Does a Lie Repeated Many Times Become the Truth?

Osjecki zeleni

The public image of swans as inspiration for numerous works of art, as an avian symbol of freedom, has been so tarnished after the media brouhaha over the avian flue that the animal lovers (which we believe we are) simply had to react.

The public opinion against the birds, the euthanasia in our own way (death by neck-wringing, shooting around to �kill all that flies as quickly as you can�). The viewers of TV programmes (children in particular) may conclude that the violence is necessary to solve this and similar problems. In addition, they have good reasons for insomnia and frequent nightmares.

To euthanize, for instance, a convicted murderer in the countries that still have the capital punishment, would mean injecting him/her with a chemical that would put him/her to sleep forever. The way it started, after the mad-cow disease, the swine plague, etc., we could soon find ourselves in a situation to try to eliminate a bigger animal race that won�t be so easy to kill.

So much violence against living beings can be seen only in war-zones. The panicked bird-owners now generously open the doors to their cages to release their beloved pets. We receive news from many cities that the birds now fly around the buildings where they lived only recently, for they don�t even know that they could fly away.

The exotic birds that are used to living in closed quarters will have to face the cold of the winter. That is a good example of slow euthanasia, Croatian style. The song of the birds turned into a call to arms. Wouldn�t it be nice for some people that there were no sounds at all in the nature? We should try and wring the neck of the wind, perhaps, to prevent the leaves from whisper?

Many people will decide to change their dietary ways. After the media coverage of the past several weeks, the system of physical distancing from the problem may seem the easiest solution.

The lie repeated too many times should become the truth. The tragic situation we find ourselves because of the avian flue (some qualified sources say that the disease exists for ages) has its own illogic aspects. The infected birds are rather selective in terms of which states to visit, avoiding the borders of a number of states, like all well behaved immigrants?

The paranoia created by the avian flue seems to have no end. To conclude, we should run a little test to your ego: Imagine that your parrot, which never left the auspices of your apartment and never made contact with wild-fowl, repeats two words only: �Avian Flue! Avian Flue!� What would you do?