I'm Just So Over The Swine Flu!

"Be still, and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:11

I'm preachy today....feel free to skip this if you are not up for my ramblings....I'm just so over the Swine Flu!

My mornings are pretty routine. I wake up with Mike and Mike. I lay in front of the tv (watching eyes-open on a good day and listening eyes-closed on a bad one). I need the important news first.......if anything has happened to my beloved Cowboys, they'll let me know. When 7:00 hits, it's time to get up and I turn the tv to Good Morning America and listen as I am getting ready - just to get the top stories. That music comes on and Diana Sawyer or Robin Roberts tell me what happened overnight. I know in less than a minute the top three stories of the day. Then, listening, I'm off to brush teeth and iron clothes. 

Is it me, or has the news the last few years (and even the last few months) gotten worse and worse - constantly trying to scare us about something new? Ratings drive it, I guess. Americans must tune in to see "what to be scared of next". From the last month or so of GMA watching, I believe as a whole we seem to be scared of complete economic collapse, terror attacks, cancer/sickness from the food we eat (not twinkies and cheeseburgers, but everything from peanut butter to bean sprouts), violence in schools, the war on drugs, our weight: not losing enough weight (ie. turn on any cable channel from 4-7 in the morning and it's weight loss infomercials) & losing too much weight (have a burger Stephanie Naumoska), whether or not our kids are learning math/science, which car we drive that can stand head-on collision at 70mph, pollution/waste and the complete destruction of the earth due to plastic grocery bags, too much socialism - not enough socialism........and then the straw that has seemed to break my camel's back......the flu......no, no the SWINE FLU!

I have to admit that the last few days I've actually been a little sucked in! Every morning Robin, serious and straight-faced, talking with doctors and experts from all over the country telling us to wash our hands - not to panic if you cough or sneeze. School's closing across the country without even a confirmed case, visual clips of people walking around in masks, warnings not to fly....it seems like something to really worry about! I actually had a thought for a split second this morning that I didn't want to go anywhere because I might come into contact with THE FLU!  I had to mentally slap myself! I was actually getting sucked into this culture of fear.

....Literally, as I am writing this email, our office manager is telling us that he got a memo from the state telling us to cough into a tissue or your sleeve, use a paper towel to open and close doors, purchase that alcohol germ stuff, etc....I am not making this up!....a memo from the state on How To Prevent Germ From Spreading 101....

http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/communications/cerc/swine_influenza_info_for_ct_residents.pdf

The more I thought about it, the sadder I got today.  Thinking about the state of mind of our country as a whole. To be a country consumed by fear is only a symptom of a much greater problem - a lack of faith. Sure the concerns are real - sure they are significant.  People are losing their jobs, families are falling apart, tainted peanut butter really can make you sick.....I just feel sad today for the people at the end of the day, when their head is on the pillow and they are still trying to control everything, who don't have the security of knowing "I am God".