What is going on in the affected parts of Africa absolutely breaks my heart. There is so much potential there for the people to be productive and live independent, happy, healthy lives. It is so sad to see how lack of education, superstition and fear combine to result in actions that not only don't help the situation one bit, but that actively make it worse.
I somehow doubt that the arrival of uniformed US military will set any of the fears to rest that the West is somehow using this ebola outbreak in an attempt to take over. I believe many will interpret their arrival as a significant threat instead of an effort to help.
Here in the US, I know of several families that are so distrustful of the government that they refuse to have their children born in hospitals, get them ssn's, send them to public schools, use any public utilities, etc. They don't get driver's licenses, don't use credit cards, don't do anything that requires a government license or certificate. I can only imagine how they would react if someone from the government told them that they HAD to do a certain thing or react in a certain way to stay safe. They would be just as unlikely to comply as the Africans in the story.
My take is that in order to be trusted, an entity has to have a proven track record of BEING trustworthy. Something our government does not have in all quarters. Something the West doesn't have in Africa. Something the governments in Liberia, Sierra Leone, etc. haven't demonstrated to their populations. And they all wonder why the inhabitants don't trust them.
From an S&EP standpoint, the lesson for me is that groups that don't trust the authorities will be unlikely to respond well to directives from them, even when the message may actually be true and in the individual's best interest. I need to be sure to always consider the merit of the actual message, and not get caught up in prejudice against the messanger.
