T.E. W. (terez93) reviewed False Alarm: The Truth About the Epidemic of Fear on + 273 more book reviews
A more timely book there could not be, right now, shortly upon the third decade of the twenty-first century. In a number of venues, it explores the phenomenon of (largely) artificially-induced fear and its role in shaping our society (and not infrequently, our economy). It was written by a New York M.D., an internist rather than a psychiatrist, who was present in New York City on 9/11, and witnessed the terrible tragedy of that fateful day. He thus has a vested interest in the subject, as he continued to live and work in the aftermath. Written in 2005, the book was conceived and primary composed in the years immediately following that event, so it focuses particularly on US policy in the new era, when fear was rampant and pervaded aspects of just about everyone's lives, warranted or not.
Perhaps its greatest virtue is the exposition on how fear is used by those in power, often through their media mouthpieces, to exploit and control the population at large, for power and particularly financial gain. This is indeed a timely issue, in the wake of the legitimately horrific COVID-19 pandemic, as well as recent political upheavals such as the BLM and "Capitol Riots," where angry protestors stormed the US Capitol Building following the defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Fear has been stoked a-plenty over the last year, by both parties, in a way and with a fervor I haven't personally experienced previously, even in the wake of 9/11. The tactics to which the author alludes even fifteen years ago are yet again front and center, however, so these methods are nothing new.
The first part of the book explores fear in general: it examines in some detail how it functions in higher order mammals, especially primates and humans, noting in particular how greatly it can affect a person's physical as well as their mental health, and certainly their outlook on life. The author notes the human tendency toward a pervasive anxiety over things which will invariably lead to death, such as dangerous diseases (which the media has stoked endlessly for nearly a year) and occasionally other catastrophes (weather, terrorism, economic depression), and the effects this can have on the human body, especially the brain and the immune system. A constant sense of dread and foreboding can have long-term physical repercussions, which is important to remember when facing a lethal virus, as fear and disease can result in an endless feedback cycle.
The succeeding chapters address artificially-induced fear by three primary entities: the government, the media, and big pharma, the latter-most playing on the public's fears of the "bug du jour" to shill their products, largely facilitated by the other two for power or profit. The best example herein: the author notes the case of the common antihistamine Claritin. When the patent expired, and the price dropped two-thirds, Schering, the manufacturer, developed a more potent version of the same thing... and began aggressively undercutting their own product through advertising and essentially lobbying doctors, billing the new version as the superior one, claiming that the former wasn't as effective, and had more side effects... even though it was essentially the same, and the same company had produced it; no one looks at who the manufacturer is, anyway.
One of the most egregious examples of this fear-for-profit came in the wake of the Anthrax fiasco, whereby the CDC began, in a highly-touted campaign, administering the highly-problematic antibiotic Cipro, at $300 for a month's supply. I personally recall seeing a well-known news anchor, in fact (either Peter Jennings or Tom Brokaw, one of those) stating, on air, holding up his pill bottle to the camera, "In Cipro We Trust." As the author notes, the Cipro manufacturer was "stoking this frenzy and playing into public hysteria by promoting the drug.... What the drug company was not telling either patient or doctor was that its usefulness for prevention was speculative. It had not been shown to work better than other cheaper antibiotics like doxycycline (at $30 for a month's supply) or even good old Penicillin." The result? "In the end, many more people got sick from the side effects of Cipro than from the noncontagious anthrax," including permanent, severely debilitating conditions such as severe tendon damage, including rupture. In fact, this class of medications is now considered so risky that it has been reclassified by the FDA as an antibiotic of last resort... and it had been used as a prophylactic.
It's honestly shocking to read this historical review of sorts, of the early 2000s, and to see the evolution, really, of how perverse media companies have increasingly sensationalized whatever they can find to drum up fear for ratings, in the wake of the then-nascent 24-hour news cycle. This has centered on, in particular, diseases: there was the Anthrax scare, then West Nile Virus, then a blip of a Smallpox scare, then SARS, MERS, the Killer Flu (Avian/H1N1), a tryst with Mad Cow Disease, and a seemingly endless parade of other pathogens, all of which have been with us since time immemorial. As the author notes, "The WHO had zoomed to the fore... but where was the same effort on behalf of the real killers, malaria and dengue, AIDS and schistosomiasis? And what about malnutrition? More people have died of hunger than of all these diseases combined. Public health attention to the latest potential killer instead of the known killers is not only an 'epidemic' of misinformation, it is also a form of politically expedient job justification." Quite on point.
So, what can be done? Realistically, I'm not sure. One answer is to hold the grotesque, attention-whoring media accountable and call them out, repeatedly and loudly, on their sensationalism. Similarly for politicians who fear-monger for their own benefit, and engage in systematic recalling or at least voting them out of office. I have to acknowledge, however, that the reality is, that stands little chance of happening any time soon, because fear is power, and those in power will continue to wield it to gain ever more control, it seems, to judge from what has occurred since this book was written. A final point, and on a personal note: although its exact context is disputed, the famous Benjamin Franklin quote comes to mind, here: âThose who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Regardless of its original usage, I think that fits just fine.
I'm curious as to what the author would think of the current situation in which we find ourselves. In short, we have the ready stand-by solution to much of this problem of the Epidemic of Fear, at least at the level of the individual. This author-medical-doctor's prescription?
"Of course, one simple cure is to turn off the TV."
-------------Notable Passages-------------
"Amplification has been used repeatedly to hype potential contagions in the post-9/11 world, beginning with anthrax, in which the free-floating anxiety of 9/11 was transferred to a hysterical fear of our mail."
"Media obsession not only misinforms but also diverts attention from the real danger.... Misdirection means ignoring the fact that millions don't have health insurance and millions are malnourished."
"Leaders create fear around their central issues, making them seem more urgent than the things they're less interested in. Republicans create fear by saying Social Security will go bankrupt if they aren't allowed to fix it, and Democrats create fear by saying the Republic plan will just end social security altogether. Democrats create fear of guns, and Republicans tap into a fear that the government will take guns away from law-abiding citizens."
Perhaps its greatest virtue is the exposition on how fear is used by those in power, often through their media mouthpieces, to exploit and control the population at large, for power and particularly financial gain. This is indeed a timely issue, in the wake of the legitimately horrific COVID-19 pandemic, as well as recent political upheavals such as the BLM and "Capitol Riots," where angry protestors stormed the US Capitol Building following the defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Fear has been stoked a-plenty over the last year, by both parties, in a way and with a fervor I haven't personally experienced previously, even in the wake of 9/11. The tactics to which the author alludes even fifteen years ago are yet again front and center, however, so these methods are nothing new.
The first part of the book explores fear in general: it examines in some detail how it functions in higher order mammals, especially primates and humans, noting in particular how greatly it can affect a person's physical as well as their mental health, and certainly their outlook on life. The author notes the human tendency toward a pervasive anxiety over things which will invariably lead to death, such as dangerous diseases (which the media has stoked endlessly for nearly a year) and occasionally other catastrophes (weather, terrorism, economic depression), and the effects this can have on the human body, especially the brain and the immune system. A constant sense of dread and foreboding can have long-term physical repercussions, which is important to remember when facing a lethal virus, as fear and disease can result in an endless feedback cycle.
The succeeding chapters address artificially-induced fear by three primary entities: the government, the media, and big pharma, the latter-most playing on the public's fears of the "bug du jour" to shill their products, largely facilitated by the other two for power or profit. The best example herein: the author notes the case of the common antihistamine Claritin. When the patent expired, and the price dropped two-thirds, Schering, the manufacturer, developed a more potent version of the same thing... and began aggressively undercutting their own product through advertising and essentially lobbying doctors, billing the new version as the superior one, claiming that the former wasn't as effective, and had more side effects... even though it was essentially the same, and the same company had produced it; no one looks at who the manufacturer is, anyway.
One of the most egregious examples of this fear-for-profit came in the wake of the Anthrax fiasco, whereby the CDC began, in a highly-touted campaign, administering the highly-problematic antibiotic Cipro, at $300 for a month's supply. I personally recall seeing a well-known news anchor, in fact (either Peter Jennings or Tom Brokaw, one of those) stating, on air, holding up his pill bottle to the camera, "In Cipro We Trust." As the author notes, the Cipro manufacturer was "stoking this frenzy and playing into public hysteria by promoting the drug.... What the drug company was not telling either patient or doctor was that its usefulness for prevention was speculative. It had not been shown to work better than other cheaper antibiotics like doxycycline (at $30 for a month's supply) or even good old Penicillin." The result? "In the end, many more people got sick from the side effects of Cipro than from the noncontagious anthrax," including permanent, severely debilitating conditions such as severe tendon damage, including rupture. In fact, this class of medications is now considered so risky that it has been reclassified by the FDA as an antibiotic of last resort... and it had been used as a prophylactic.
It's honestly shocking to read this historical review of sorts, of the early 2000s, and to see the evolution, really, of how perverse media companies have increasingly sensationalized whatever they can find to drum up fear for ratings, in the wake of the then-nascent 24-hour news cycle. This has centered on, in particular, diseases: there was the Anthrax scare, then West Nile Virus, then a blip of a Smallpox scare, then SARS, MERS, the Killer Flu (Avian/H1N1), a tryst with Mad Cow Disease, and a seemingly endless parade of other pathogens, all of which have been with us since time immemorial. As the author notes, "The WHO had zoomed to the fore... but where was the same effort on behalf of the real killers, malaria and dengue, AIDS and schistosomiasis? And what about malnutrition? More people have died of hunger than of all these diseases combined. Public health attention to the latest potential killer instead of the known killers is not only an 'epidemic' of misinformation, it is also a form of politically expedient job justification." Quite on point.
So, what can be done? Realistically, I'm not sure. One answer is to hold the grotesque, attention-whoring media accountable and call them out, repeatedly and loudly, on their sensationalism. Similarly for politicians who fear-monger for their own benefit, and engage in systematic recalling or at least voting them out of office. I have to acknowledge, however, that the reality is, that stands little chance of happening any time soon, because fear is power, and those in power will continue to wield it to gain ever more control, it seems, to judge from what has occurred since this book was written. A final point, and on a personal note: although its exact context is disputed, the famous Benjamin Franklin quote comes to mind, here: âThose who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Regardless of its original usage, I think that fits just fine.
I'm curious as to what the author would think of the current situation in which we find ourselves. In short, we have the ready stand-by solution to much of this problem of the Epidemic of Fear, at least at the level of the individual. This author-medical-doctor's prescription?
"Of course, one simple cure is to turn off the TV."
-------------Notable Passages-------------
"Amplification has been used repeatedly to hype potential contagions in the post-9/11 world, beginning with anthrax, in which the free-floating anxiety of 9/11 was transferred to a hysterical fear of our mail."
"Media obsession not only misinforms but also diverts attention from the real danger.... Misdirection means ignoring the fact that millions don't have health insurance and millions are malnourished."
"Leaders create fear around their central issues, making them seem more urgent than the things they're less interested in. Republicans create fear by saying Social Security will go bankrupt if they aren't allowed to fix it, and Democrats create fear by saying the Republic plan will just end social security altogether. Democrats create fear of guns, and Republicans tap into a fear that the government will take guns away from law-abiding citizens."
