Things I Tell My Wife by Matt Knutson

“I think we all imagine we’re Katniss in ‘The Hunger Games,’ but tonight I feel we’re more like citizens of The Capitol,” I told Sera after she shared a news story with me about Ebola. We’ve known about the virus impacting West Africa for months, but the concern is now becoming real because someone in America died. It seems a bit elitist.

For those unfamiliar with “The Hunger Games,” it’s a popular book and movie series about a North American nation called Panem divided into districts in a crumbling utopian society. Each of the 12 districts exists to support The Capitol and the dictatorial president. In return, citizens of The Capitol — and the more privileged districts, to a degree — care very little about what occurs in the rest of the world until it is knocking on their doorsteps.

While I don’t believe the American government is inherently evil like the ruling class portrayed in “The Hunger Games,” I do see parallels between the citizens of Panem and Americans. These similarities have become increasing visible as television media began to spotlight Ebola in their latest attempts to get ratings.

The article my wife shared with me quoted successful illustrator André Carrilh, who stated, “In the Western media there are First World diseases and Third World diseases, and the attention devoted to the latter depends on the threat they pose to us, not on a universal measure of human suffering.”

As more of my friends on Facebook begin posting their concerns about contracting Ebola, I can’t help but wonder what about our upbringing caused us to think solely about ourselves. Why is it OK for us to think the Ebola epidemic is OK on the other side of the world? Perhaps “OK” isn’t the right word to use, but I haven’t seen anyone dump a bucket of ice water on their head to raise money for Ebola research. In case you were wondering, between 5,000 and 6,000 Americans die of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis each year and nearly 4,000 people have died from the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa.

If Americans decided to duplicate their generosity to the ALS Foundation, there would be an additional $100 million raised to take action against Ebola. I’m sure the estimated 6 million gallons of wasted clean water from the Ice Bucket challenge could also be useful in West Africa.

I recall one chapter in “The Hunger Games” where citizens of The Capitol are having a luxurious party, feasting on delicious food and then taking medication to cause themselves to vomit. By emptying their stomachs, they are able to continue to eat more without having the consequence of being full. Meanwhile, Katniss and her family in another district are struggling to survive due to restrictions on food. Surely the people living in our country don’t want to take this stance globally.

Thankfully, our leaders are demonstrating their understanding that Ebola, and many other issues, are worthy investments. Time Magazine reported in the middle of September that the United States is committing $500 million to fight Ebola. If our government responded the same way many of our people are responding to Ebola fears, we’d be even closer to the society we love to hate in “The Hunger Games.”

Many people feel like our government should decrease its role throughout the world and focus on helping people here in America first. When I see a price tag of $500 million leaving America, I can’t help but initially have the same thought.

When I read that analysts are projecting the economic toll of Ebola in the effected countries could reach $32.6 billion by the end of the year, it suddenly seemed our contribution was a small gesture to prevent a tremendous financial meltdown in the already stretched West African countries.

It is clear this region isn’t well-equipped to contain this virus, and investing resources there can prevent Ebola from spreading here.

As technology continues to bring the world closer together, I’m hopeful that the worldwide gap between the wealthy and poor will be decreased through opportunities like stopping Ebola from spreading. This doesn’t mean a distribution of wealth, but rather ensuring basic needs are being met in every country, which certainly means more than just Americans contributing. We don’t have to emulate the people in The Capitol in “The Hunger Games” by being passive toward the suffering of others, and I think our world would be a better place if we weren’t.

 

Rochester resident Matt Knutson is the communications and events director for United Way of Olmsted County.