ALARMISM

     Normal may still be a setting on your dryer but apparently not on the news.  What used to be considered normal winter weather is now "winter storm warning".  The same conditions that in years past would be called bad winter weather now inspire "emergency travel only" warnings.  Since when did expected conditions become alarming?  I realize with the media saturation available today, the only way to get people to listen to a program about weather, health, politics etc. is to make it sound more exciting than it is, but that doesn't make it an emergency.  The Aesop's fable about the boy who cried wolf still applies.  When we are repeatedly warned about threats that don't materialize, we will not be paying attention if there is a real emergency.
     One of my older acquaintances, Dee, has a seemingly endless capacity to be alarmed.  She fears diseases found only on other continents, bacteria in food she has never eaten, and bedbugs in the bed she has had for 40 years and no one else has ever slept on.  She seems to delight in warnings and worry. She is a shut in, worry gives her something to do. The more important the worry, the more important she feels for worrying about it.
       When I was in school we had a normal bell that made a "brrring" sound to tell us when it was time for school, recess and various class changes.  The fire drill bell, on the other hand, made a sharp "Bzzzzzzt" sound that started adrenaline pumping even if you knew you were having a fire drill.  Todays broadcasters have sounded the fire drill alarm so often most of us have cotton in our ears.  I think there should be some penalty attached like there is for calling 911 to order pizza or using the emergency broadcast system to announce a bake sale. But the only penalties that are available to us are tuning out the warnings or turning off the TV.        
     Having grown up with a geniunely paranoid person, I can tell you that the fact that the dire predictions never happen is no deterrent to believing they are about to, or moving on to a new threat.  This win-win, or in this case, lose-lose aspect is especially appealing to people who are naturally pessimistic or devoted worry warts like Dee.  I hope this alarmist phase of broadcasting will be short lived, but if it continues, I am going to use this blog to repeatedly WARN PEOPLE OF THE DANGERS OF ALARMISM!!  There will always be some gullible cynic willing to take it seriously.