Educating the American people

o I finally go open the rickety mailbox marked number five, that probably hasn't been gone through in more than a week. Amid way too many pizza specials, advertisements and "deals" from Circuit City, I find the postcard of precautionary measures sent out by the U.S. Postal Service.\nThanks for the warning, guys, and the proper measures to take to avoid any potential anthrax harm, but isn't this getting a little excessive?\nIgnorance is not bliss, especially in situations of chemical warfare, if that is what this whole anthrax thing ends up being. But rather than Americans being aware and educated about anthrax, they have been driven into a state of paranoia and fear.\nWhether this fear is being perpetuated by the media or not, I am not sure. I think it depends on what channel people watch the evening news and how educated viewers really are. \nBut somehow, a sense of fear fills the hearts of Americans and overshadows reasonable responses to anthrax and terrorism.\nThis fear is multifaceted. \nIf everyone starts taking Cipro -- the antibiotic used to reduce the progression of inhaled anthrax - before they have anthrax, the medicine will not be effective if they actually do come in contact with the spores. Just like taking too much of any antibiotic, the body can build up an immunity to the medication. Not to mention that Bayer, the creator and distributor of Cipro, has already anticipated a shortage of the medication. People who take the medication without just cause might cause a shortage for those in need, which could create an entirely new problem.\nWhile anthrax is a legitimate and scary problem, especially if you are a postal worker or a senator, there are rational precautions that can be taken that avoid the hysteria.\nRead the postal service warnings; be aware of mail in any envelope, as we now know that anthrax can indeed be transmitted through closed envelopes. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has jumped the gun in chaotic fashion, issuing initial statements that said anthrax couldn't be contracted through closed envelopes. Now eating their words and issuing even more warnings to make up for Americans being misinformed, the government seems to want to educate Americans but are not doing so in a reasonable or rational manner.\nNow with new FBI statements anticipate some additional terrorist acts within the coming week, and the successful boarding of two terrorists on a flight that landed in Seattle, the mayhem that surrounds air travel adds yet another fear factor into the hearts of Americans. \nThis is also a legitimate fear. But being hysterical and stashing dozens of canned goods won't help the cause. Education and rational understanding is necessary for stability in our nation.\n While the government tells us all one thing, the media hypes it into something different. And our neighbors, brothers, sisters and friends enlist to fight whatever the truth is, here or overseas, on foot or in air, it is hard for any Americans to know exactly what to believe.\n Whenever there is doubt about truth and what the future holds, fear is natural. It is in how Americans band together and handle this fear that the stability of our nation rests.\nBelieving only CNN or Chris Matthews on "Hardball" is not a substitute for making informed decisions about how to address ever-growing fears. Now is the time to listen, read, learn, discuss and decide individually in a rational, educated manner.\nOnly with personal research and understanding can the mayhem that shot gas prices up absurdly high Sept. 11 and put Cipro on the bestseller list, be avoided.