In reading the mainstream media, one can see the corporate media machine, yet again, whipping up people’s fear for self serving interests. Of course this is to be expected as corporations now instinctively know that natural disasters & wars spell big profit! The idea of a ‘pandemic’ seems to have some corporations drooling over the opportunities to cash in (and others industries, such as the travel industry in fear of collapse). This is to be expected as corporations serve one master, the dollar, that is just the nature of this beast we have created (for a very enlightening history of corporations, check out the video “The Corporation”). Of course, government is complicit in perpetuating this corruption of democracy through its neoliberal agenda. To think that politicians are not influenced by their corporate sugar daddies or their stock ownership in the companies that profit from human suffering would be extremely naive.
So what is the real story that you will not find in the mainstream media? Could it be an intelligent look at the actual factors that contribute to the evolution of this virus and the public policies that promote the spread of this disease? In a CNN/Time Magazine article “Swine Flu: Don’t Blame the Pig” they imply that this flu is an inevitable result of the adoption of farming practice by humans, but make no attempt to look at specific farming practices that may contribute to the mutation of this virus (the article seems more geared towards support of the pig industry). They conclude by making sure we know what our real concern should be by stating “But regardless of whence the virus came, the more salient question is, Where will it go?”
In an article titled “Mexico’s Swine Flu and the Globalization of Disease”, Laura Carlsen examines the fact that this disease originated in Perote, Veracruz, the home of a giant Smithfield Farms hog farm, that was enabled by the passage of NAFTA. (for a more detailed article about how industrial farming incubates disease see “Capiatlism & the Flu”). Carlsen further explains how the spread of this disease is enabled by the policies of the World Bank, which encourage governments to divert money from public services (such as health care) in order to create an attractive climate for international investment. She also discusses the impact of NAFTA on Mexico’s health care system. I encourage everyone to read these articles and always look critically at the stories we see in the corporate media as true objective reporting has completely disappeared from the mainstream media (consider yourself lucky if you find accurately reported facts and always consider the ones they omit).
Will this potential “pandemic” result in more awareness of the dangers of the neoliberal globalization agenda? Will the general public finally come to understand how corporations (and the governmental institutions that maintain them) are the antithesis of everything that it means to be human? Will more people come to see why so many dedicated citizens have been sacrificing their time, safety, freedom and lives to protest the globalization of corporate power and the subservient government systems that enable it? While those in power may not be able to see past their self interest inspired delusions, I have faith that the people of this world will. Examples of groups of individuals working together to support true democracy and human rights abound. Regardless of the hypocrisy of our current political and economic systems, we still try to teach our children to share!
Finally, if there are any conspiracy theorists out there seeing this as further evidence of some secret plot, please save that for the fantasy movies. While there are no doubt some underhanded dealings going on, it does not take a conspiracy theory to explain this situation if you simply examine the nature of our economic and political systems and the underlying principles of greed, selfishness and distrust that provides their foundation. Conspiracy theories are a hindrance to change and actually serve to support the interests of the supposed conspirators.
