It seems like all the technological advancements of our age have brought with them needless worry and superstition along with the advantages of high-tech products. I haven't got a clue why people worry about all the wrong things. Articles in magazines like Time and other news sources have recently been run addressing this strange problem. Why is it that bird flu gets painstakingly covered on all our major news networks (and it has indeed killed zero Americans) while the common flu (death count: 36,000 this year) can't get a spot on CNN? How come E coli, airplanes, mad cow disease, and kidnappings are all feared by many Americans for some strange reason? Airplanes are a great example of these ridiculous ideas. Airplanes are the fastest and most safe form of travel around. Last year 789 people died on commercial airliners – all on small foreign airlines, most due to pilot error or airline maintenance error. Planes themselves are highly advanced, safe vehicles capable of crossing oceans and carrying hundreds. The DC-10 was the most advanced aircraft of its time, but due to one bad crash (which was actually due to faulty maintenance, not plane problems. Maintenance workers did not take off an engine correctly.) the plane folded. The sensationalistic American media inflated the problem, ignoring facts in the never-ending quest for higher ratings. Then look at the estimate for automobile deaths in 2005 – 46,800 deaths. Many of these were in respectably made and operated cars. One of my parents friends' opted to drive rather than fly across America after 9/11. Why couldn't he see that driving was far more dangerous than flying? It never ceases to confuse me that so many people are deluded in this society of crazy news shows, antibacterial soap, and needless, stupid warnings.
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