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Influenza Pandemics

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New diseases and pandemics shock government and individuals, and are difficult to treat. This remained true in the past, whether it be the Black Death or the Influenza pandemic of 1918, and true today, as examined by governments and society trying to adjust to the new threats of Ebola and Zika. The 1918 influenza pandemic and the current response to Zika can be compared by examining how similar they are in terms of showing how government quarantines can be counter productive and how government actions taken during the flu hurt the Ebola response in the modern world.

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Many governments took efforts to stop the spreading of the flu in 1918. Some tried to promote public health and boost morale by framing the flu as a “metaphor …show more content…
The emergence of a foreign culture, the British, caused the native African culture to implode and corrupted previous values. When the British came, they try and persuade the natives to become Christians, telling the natives that “"All the gods you have named are not gods at all. They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children. … They are pieces of wood and stone." This statement is initially viewed as idiotic by many of the native people. Nonetheless, the British preached the gospel and try and gain land to build a church. The Africans believe a place known as the Evil Forest is “alive with sinister forces and powers of darkness. It was such a forest that, the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries”. Initially, this is mean to humor the missionaries and drive them out, but the missionaries clear the land and successfully build a church. The missionaries “won his first three converts” because they survived in the Evil Forest, and “it became known that the white man's fetish had unbelievable power.” This initial crack in the African civilization grows larger, and eventually Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son, “went back to the church and told Mr. Kiaga that he had decided to go to Umuofia where the white missionary had set up a school to teach young Christians to read and write.” This symbolizes that while the youngsters embraced change and new ideas and religions, the older individuals, such as Okonkwo, did not approve. The cultural shift caused a rift among the native population, a rift based on religion’s ties and consequently age. Furthermore, the British colonizers “had also brought a government” which made laws and punishments, such as forcing prisoners to work menial labor as punishments, including “were men of title who should be above such mean occupation”. This shows how a cultural shift also changes the

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