The news in Texas is today dominated by a man called Eric Duncan who arrived in Dallas from Monrovia, Liberia last week. Duncan is the first confirmed Ebola victim in the USA. The current African outbreak of Ebola is exponentially doubling every three weeks.

In Texas, the authorities are, as of today,  monitoring 100 people who have had possible contact with Duncan. The problem with a highly infectious disease like Ebola (death rate of over 50%) is that those hundred people are just the first circle. If any of them are infected, then you potentially have another hundred for each one .... and so on.

Duncan was infected before he left Liberia, so I imagine that authorities in Belgium will be concerned, since his flight had a stop-over in Brussels en-route to Washington DC and Dallas.

This is a terrible disease which inflicts horrible pain and suffering on it's victims. It's movement to the USA contains a powerful and very symbolic message for humanity today.

From a historical perspective there appears to be some karma in the threat to the USA emerging from Liberia. Liberia was effectively created by the USA as a destination for the repatriation of freed black slaves, in 1822. In addition, white slave-owners in Texas and elsewhere, took the opportunity to send trouble-makers and those that would unsettle their slaves, there. And finally, the US Navy would off-load slaves in Liberia that it found on illegal slave ships.

Once in Liberia, these people formed a classic hierarchy with the better-off (moneyed) free slaves on top, then the impoverished trouble-makers and finally the destitute group rescued from slave ships. All of these looked down on and controlled the local, indigenous people!

The political turmoil, armed conflict and continual impoverishment in recent decades suggests that no great effort has gone into helping the country develop either educationally or economically.

Which is where the karma comes in. It now looks as if this poor, poverty-stricken country, lacking in a sophisticated health-care system, is the source of a major threat to the USA.

It is ironical that Texas is in the heart of the bible-belt - it is common to see various religious (Christian) symbols adorning homes and work-places. From car-dealerships to dentists waiting rooms, you are likely to see a replica of the ten commandments pinned to the wall.

Yet it looks like the injunction to 'love thy neighbor as thyself' has been overlooked and now some unintended consequences are coming home to roost. The trouble-makers are a distinct source of trouble for their ex-masters.

Posted by Nicholas Moore    8:55:07 PM