Regional or widespread war, terrorism, cyber attacks, etc., are all useful vehicles to conjure mass confusion, and can also be used as scapegoats for the eventual downfall of our economy. That said, a viral pandemic truly surpasses them all in effectiveness. All other tragedies could easily be tied to the first “domino” or “linchpin” (as Rand Corporation calls it) of Ebola transmission, but the strategy goes deeper than this.
This is an incredibly useful strategy when used on the ignorant. And as I pointed out last week in my column, “U.S. government fails to stop yet another invasion,” it’s a sad fact that most of the people you meet in this life are fundamentally and functionally ignorant.