Appearing on the Today show last week, Vice President Joe Biden was asked my Matt Lauer what advice he would give his family members who might want to fly to Mexico. Biden, apparently not wanting to single out Mexico, said that he would tell members of his family to avoid all confined spaces including all planes and subways.
All hell broke loose after the interview was aired and a press release was immediately issued stating the Biden really didn’t say what he said. He only said to avoid unnecessary travel to Mexico. That release just may have done the trick in a pre-YouTube world but what Joe Biden said, like pretty well everything else is now immortalized in cyberspace.
Biden explained on the air that sneezing in a confined space such as the cabin of an aircraft is different than sneezing in an open field; the former much more likely to spread disease such as the dreaded/no big deal H1N1 flu. Biden’s words just might have been the most common sense statement yet to emanate from anyone in the Obama administration in its magical and glorious first 100 days.
Biden’s answer to Lauer made a lot of people furious, most notably the travel industry. Even Obama was perturbed as if he might actually be concerned about the profitability of those in the transportation field. It has been speculated that Biden’s remarks were deliberate in order to cause fear and panic without appearing to be sanctioned by the administration; a dangerous flu outbreak that will bring the nation to its knees and can only be fixed by Barack Obama’s healthcare plans. This view is bolstered by the way that Matt Lauer, a prominent member of the official television network of the Obama administration phrased the question; had he not made reference to Joe Biden’s family he likely would have gotten a different answer. Lauer should consider himself lucky that, so far Barry hasn’t fired him. But the reality is that what Biden said makes just as much sense if not more than what the WHO and governments throughout the world are saying about the latest outbreak of flu.
It’s true that governments are in a tough position when it comes to outbreaks of diseases such as the current swine flu. If they announce that they are taking action to combat a strain of flu that is, by all accounts, milder than the ordinary bug that appears every year, they are accused of creating panic. And if they do nothing at the strain does mutate into something more serious, they are accused of doing nothing. Choosing the former is exacerbated by the multitude of 24 hour news radio and television networks that make this current flu that has resulted in only mild cases outside of Mexico seem the equivalent of the dreaded plagues of the Middle Ages. But if we really are to take precautions against the flu as we are constantly being advised to do, then the words of Joe Biden (the original words, not the White House version) should be heeded.
Certainly people should not forgo travel if the only risk is getting a mild case of the flu. But why should people who are constantly being warned to take precautions such as constantly washing their hands not play it safe and avoid public transportation when they have a ready alternative? The prudent thing to do during this H1N1 “crisis” is to drive alone or with family members rather than travel in a crowded subway train packed in with other sneezing passengers; people who for all you know, just returned from Mexico. Biden was dead on when he spoke about confined spaces.
This is reason number 3,789 why people will never abandon their own vehicles although at the rate things are going, cars may abandon them. Public transit systems, billed by Toronto’s authorities as “the better way” are the most dangerous way to travel if avoiding disease is a priority. Rejecting public transit is certainly safer for those who fear coming down with the flu. Joe Biden is of course right; people should avoid confined spaces if they can.
Of course this is contrary to conventional wisdom that public transportation is necessary to save the planet. The powers that be should make up their minds as to what is more important; the health of the individual or the health of the planet. They can’t have it both ways.
Anyone who is fearful of catching the current strain of flu should heed Joe Biden’s advice. And he should not be castigated for giving an honest answer to a question that he was asked.
