News and social media platforms are teeming with updates on the recent Ebola outbreak, which a Huffington Post article calls “the worst in history.” Business Insider’s article by Stephanie Nebehay puts the estimate at 10,000 people sickened by Ebola. Meanwhile, the U.S. media perpetuate still another deadly infection — that of apathy, ignorance and self-absorption.
Countless articles have been published explaining changes to American hospital policies and sanitary procedures for Ebola nurses, yet startlingly few articles have provided any illumination concerning international dealings with the outbreak. In fact, a Rutgers-Eagleton statewide poll of New Jersey found that residents who followed Ebola news most closely had the most inaccurate information regarding the issue.
In August, the Ministry of Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo informed the World Health Organization of its Ebola outbreak. Believed to originate from fruit bats, Ebola is only moderately contagious and cannot be transferred through the air. Rather, it can only be exchanged via bodily fluids such as spit or blood, an NPR article explains. Infection symptoms include weakness, fever and body pain.
Since August, cases of the virus have been reported in several countries, with cases predominantly occurring in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. There have been more than 4,600 cases in Liberia and 3,700 in Sierra Leone, according to a CNN article.
The first Ebola case in the United States was that of a man who flew from Liberia to Dallas and became ill on Sept. 24. Since then, there have only been a handful of cases in the United States and but one death.
That is not to say that each life is not important, but do we as Americans think the same way about the thousands of individuals in West Africa who have suffered? How can Americans be paranoid about the small scope of the virus within their own borders, while the thousands of sick and dying on the other side of the world are nothing but a collective number?
A Mic Network article cites Google Trends as indicating that the highest levels of worldwide following of Ebola news were in the beginning of August and October, time frames that correspond with U.S.-related Ebola cases. In other words, interest in the Ebola outbreak has been low unless it directly involves America.
In his weekly address published Oct. 18, President Obama emphasized his confidence in the capability of the United States to treat and contain the Ebola outbreak, adding that the country will “continue to help lead the global response in West Africa.” Pointing to the fact that thousands of Americans die from the flu each year, Obama explained that there is no need for the U.S. to panic about Ebola.
“All of us – citizens, leaders, the media – have a responsibility and a role to play,” said the president. “This is a serious disease, but we can’t give in to hysteria or fear because that only makes it harder to get people the accurate information they need.”
Huffington Post writer Jason Linkins suggests a few courses of action to ensure accurate media portrayal of the Ebola issue. These include avoiding melodrama and speculation, and giving the greatest amount of coverage to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The approach of APU’s Global Vision Week from Nov. 5-9 is a timely reminder that we do not have the luxury to turn away from the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ. As a university that emphasizes the international nature of the body of believers, it is impossible to ignore the U.S. media’s poor handling of the Ebola outbreak.
We cannot call ourselves Christians yet rank American lives as more worthy of coverage than others. This concept is made clear in Philippians 2:3-4, which reads, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (ESV).
Let us not give in to American hysteria over Ebola or disinterest in its effects on the rest of the world. Let us pursue a greater understanding of the international suffering this outbreak has caused. Most of all, let us treasure the concept of Imago Dei — that the image of God is not rendered simply in red, white and blue, but all colors.