Close Our Borders and Stop Travel From Ebola Nations to Save America [Opinion]
Ebola has arrived in America. And our government is apparently so consumed with political correctness that we are not willing to take the most basic, logical step to stem the tide of this disease: stop people who have the disease from coming to this country.
Thomas Duncan, the Liberian man who flew into Dallas (and through Dulles as well, by the way), lied on his exit documents in Liberia before boarding a flight to the United States, according to a USA Today report on October 3rd. They also report that Liberian officials had planned to prosecute Duncan for his lies; he answered “no” on a questionnaire about whether he had cared for or had any contact with anyone who had Ebola.
Early morning Wednesday, October 8, Duncan died at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. This afternoon it was announced that a patient at a Frisco, Texas hospital is suffering symptoms of Ebola. The unidentified individual is said to have been in contact with Duncan. Clearly, it’s an evil gift that keeps on giving. And yet we’re told don’t panic.
Should you panic? No. Well, at least you shouldn’t have to panic. But our misguided desire to not offend anyone for any reason will be our undoing in America. It may not be Ebola, but this disease known as political correctness has opened the flood gates to a litany of “ills” that do not discriminate when it comes to killing.
Kenya Airways, British Airways, Air Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria's Arik Air have all suspended flights from Ebola-stricken nations. But our own government and more specifically the Centers for Disease Control, are insisting that if we cut off travel it will only make the Ebola outbreak worse. Frankly, I don’t trust the CDC as far as I could kick the entire staff. It’s this ignorant policy of political correctness that has driven out every grain of common sense our leaders may have ever had.
Medicines, medical personnel and equipment could still be taken to the fight in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, the nation’s where Ebola is spreading by the second. But the idea of allowing casual travel, “screening” for fevers at terminals (it could take up to 21 days for symptoms to show up, so that’s a false sense of security) and anything less than closing our borders is simply foolhardy. In the past, we’ve used quarantine to ensure that epidemics did not take hold. According to an Ellis Island historical site:
Those immigrants that were ill with contagious diseases, were removed from the ships by Medical Inspectors and transferred to Hoffman and Swinburne Island. It was only the first and second-class cabin passengers. Passengers in the third-class had to wait for their examination later at Ellis Island. Ellis Island also had quarantine houses at the Island.
But here we are, today, in the year 2014, faced with what could well be the plague of the 21st century, and we actually have individuals who claim to hold degrees in medicine and qualifications as medical professionals, telling us we should not quarantine and should not restrict travel. In America, travel from city to city, state to state is easy. Daily commutes in cities like Dallas put thousands who utilize public transportation into close contact.
Travel and commerce are a necessary part of our daily lives. It would seem to me that that fact alone increases the chances of an epidemic exponentially. Allowing anyone into our country who is infected or potentially infected is not just crazy, it’s suicide. We are not Sierra Leone or Liberia. We are America. If we don’t protect ourselves, who will? Close the borders, Congress. Do it now.