What I found so interesting reading this article and watching the video is that I’ve learned about World War 1 numerous times but have never learned about the role the Spanish influenza played in it. I did not know that many of our deaths towards the end of the war were due to the rapid spread of the disease rather than battlefield casualties. I am left pondering who this part of the narrative seems to be left out. It makes sense that they wouldn’t advertise it during the war because it would lower moral but why did my history classes leave it out?
Another thing I found kind of funny when watching the video was the point Trevor Noah made when he said that we really haven’t come that far. We still don’t have many solutions to slow the spread of disease other than wear a mask and to stay away from infected people. We have come far in the sense that we know more of what causes these diseases and the many ways they spread but have not improved the solutions to these problems. Additionally, we make the same mistakes like as soon as restrictions are lifted we all immediately flood the streets, we don’t have parades like they used to but the spike of people going out is the same.
I also thought it was interesting that it is not typically mentioned that the end of WWI was aided by the introduction of the Spanish Influenza, which shows how long-lasting propaganda and political influence can have on our lives and narratives. While reading I was also wondering if there were diseases that developed from the trench-warfare that were also deadly?
I also think it is super interesting how everyone learns about World War One but never the part the Spanish Influenza played in it. It makes me wonder is that why we are downplaying Civid-Because we don’t ever discusses previous pandemics and epidemics? And everyone says we are living in the most historical year yet but later on is society going to change history and brush things about Covid-19 aside?
When thinking about the coronavirus, we should be much farther along in solving the problem than we currently are given our greater understanding of disease. However, I think that people as individuals care about personal well-being over society’s well-being as a whole which is why we haven’t made much progress.
You made a really good point that we are never taught that the Spanish Flu was apart of WWI. That definitely played a huge role in the war and numbers in the war. The flu came home with every soldier who fought in the war.