The Swine Flu Epidemic and How to Not Fit In

Time for me to get on the soap box a bit, children please avert your eyes directly to this post. One of the most interesting things about the news to me is how overall negative and pessimistic it is as a whole. National news fairs only slightly better, occasionally offering updates and reports on very positive and upbeat things that are occurring in the world around us, but I would go as far as to say that 80 percent of news stories (especially local news) are filled with nothing but crime, fear reports, and other overly negative things that apparently people enjoy watching.

Now what the hell does this have to do with swine flu and being a crowd follower? Unfortunately way to much

The media as a whole likes to create drama, I mean that is exactly what people want to watch whether they are checking out the new episode of American Idol, or trying to learn about the new double homicide that just took place in their backyard. The vast majority of the news business is built upon this philosophy of, “giving the people what they want” so I can’t say I want to point the finger at the uninformed consumer or the media news giant trying to make a buck, it just is what it is.

In the last few months it seems that everyone and their mother have been raving on about the swine flu when they are not talking about how easy it is to crash a party at the white house (on a side note: I found a great thing to add to my bucket list because of that whole incident 😉 ). Swine flu is certainly a legitimate medical concern that is claiming the lives of people all across the world, so it is an issue that requires attention. But what was interesting was how the media was making the swine flu outbreak look like the newest run of AIDS in our society, but in actuality the amount of deaths around the world resulting from swine flu were particularly nominal in regards to some far more pressing issue that we are facing in the world today.

(Click the image for the juicy details….it will feel good, I promise)

Between the drama of talking about the intermittent tragic deaths of a few people who obtained this virus, more urgent matters that are staring us right in the face, once again, took a near permanent backseat to the drama interlaced story that was being drawn by people just like us. The news merely created the ember while we spread the flame and began to run out and take precautions against obtaining this overhyped flu.

Issues that I feel are far more pressing, like the fact that 1 in 4 people in the world are hungry at the moment (1 in 6 in the USA alone). Or the fact that obesity rates are climbing faster and higher than they ever have in the last 10 years, and yet there is no real solution in sight. The list goes on and on about the issues that are not only right in front of our faces, but far more prevalent than the outbreaks of the swine flu (or H1N1 as we are suppose to say now)

Stepping off my soap box for a minute, this brings me to the idea of following the crowd. I remember that I was once told by a master financier that, “when the masses panic, you should be calm, and when they are calm, you should panic”. While I am not one to panic over most situations, the point he was trying to make was spot on, following the crowd is not in your best interest. While people assume there is sanity and safety in numbers, more often than not, everyone in the group is already being hurt and is already more insane than people in padded cells at your friendly insane asylum.

The crowd is rarely rational, and always emotionally driven, as if an episode of the real housewives of Orange County is on permanent auto playback. And while you might think that there is some sort of method to the madness, I assure you there is not.

The people in the world who really set the bar for living life to the fullest and doing the things in life that matter most are always the ones who broke away from the pack and did things their own way. There may have been more stories of failure than success in this area, but if people weren’t willing to take a risk and be who they really are and think totally for themselves, the we wouldn’t have some of the world’s greatest minds that have existed over the years.

Do you think that people like Bill Gates, Leonardo Da Vinci, Picasso, Charles Dickens, or Steve Jobs made themselves who they are today by playing it safe and following the crowd? Hell no, they decided to take a risk and put their balls on the line for all to see.  Many of them had an insurmountable amount of failures before they were met with success, but it was because they were willing to break apart from the mold and make their own place in the world that they ending up being the leader of their own groups of followers as time went on.

It’s important to not ignore the crowd, but to at least look at it for what it is and make your own decision on what you should think, act, and do with your life. So whether it’s the local news telling you to go get a shot that is loaded with all sorts of chemicals to prevent some super rare flu, or select group of journalists that seem to be shooting their mouth off and have everybody going out of their way to say or do something to support or argue with their preachings, realize that you have a choice to lead or follow in anything you do in life. And if all else fails, chances are you are better off running in the opposite direction of everyone else.

Cheers to leading the pack

Gabriel