THE BOTTOM LINE

Government and health officials will continue to downplay the notion that Ebola could reach apocalyptic proportions to avoid wholesale panic, even if four thousand American military personnel are deployed to the epidemic zone. To be prepared, however, it’s important to always stay aware of the facts and never assume that it couldn’t happen here.

Americans need to prepare by making a plan of action that can be activated if Ebola ever reaches their area. They must also continue asking the tough questions of those in power. The American Thinker blog offers fourteen questions that will never be asked about Ebola but should be. They include:

• “Why doesn’t the United States have a mandatory quarantine period of twenty‑eight days before allowing any traveler who has visited West Africa in the past ninety days, to enter our country?”

• “If an outbreak of Ebola occurs in a major US city such as New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, is this government prepared to quarantine five to eight million citizens from land, sea, and air travel to stop the spread of the virus? How many deaths from such an outbreak would trigger such quarantine? Would US troops be ordered to fire upon US citizens attempting to evade the quarantine?”

• “How many Ebola deaths nationally would trigger a Presidential Executive Order declaring martial law, nationalizing the distribution of food, energy, health care, and information? Would this Executive Order also limit the duration of martial law and the circumstances for it being lifted?”

And, perhaps most significantly:

• “Why are so few of us raising our voices–screaming at the top of our lungs–demanding that our government begin implementing common‑sense epidemiological safeguards against Ebola unnecessarily infecting more Americans?”

The United States, more than any other country, has the potential to rise to the challenge of containing this epidemic and helping those in need. We must expand our efforts in West Africa and remain the force of good for the world that we have traditionally been.

By the same token, the United States can’t ignore the public health and safety of its citizens. Americans depend on government to protect the populace in times of trouble. We have to look at the Ebola crisis in terms of humanitarian considerations, but also in terms of self‑preservation. That means that there may be tough decisions ahead.

I hope that the reader of this book never has to resort to the strategies that I’ve outlined here. I prefer to hope for the best, while preparing for the worst. In this way, we can all succeed, even if everything else fails.