Michael Crichton on Gossip...sort of, well not really but read on anyway!

Several years ago I read a book by Michael Crichton (known especially for Jurassic Park) entitled State of Fear. It’s a fictional look at a global disaster caused by eco-terrorists. In classic Crichton fashion, that book freaked me out! It might be my favorite Crichton novel.

Crichton was meticulous in his research, which is one reason that I like to read his stuff. To prepare for State of Fear, he researched global disasters. Of special interest to Crichton was what happened at Chernobyl, one of the worst man-made disasters in history. He was surprised, though, to discover that the fearful legend of Chernobyl didn’t line up with actual facts.

Crichton gave a speech in 2005 in which he shared some of what he had learned. His research shows just how powerful false information can be:

“Chernobyl was a tragic event, but nothing remotely close to the global catastrophe I imagined. About 50 people had died in Chernobyl, roughly the number of Americans that die every day in traffic accidents. I don’t mean to be gruesome, but it was a setback for me. You can’t write a novel about a global disaster in which only 50 people die….

“What I had been led to believe about Chernobyl was not merely wrong—it was astonishingly wrong….

“The initial reports in 1986 claimed 2,000 dead and an unknown number of future deaths and deformities occurring in a wide swath extending from Sweden to the Black Sea. As the years passed, the size of the disaster increased: by 2000, the BBC and New York Times estimated 15,000–30,000 dead, and so on…

“Now, to report that 15,000–30,000 people have died, when the actual number is 56, represents a big error….

“But, of course, you think, We’re talking about radiation: what about long-term consequences? Unfortunately here the media reports are even less accurate.

Pointing to a chart, he said that there were “estimates as high as 3.5 million, or 500,000 deaths, when the actual number of delayed deaths is less than 4,000. That’s the number of Americans who die of adverse drug reactions every six weeks. Again, a huge error.

“But most troubling of all, according to the U.N. report in 2005, is that ‘the largest public health problem created by the accident’ is the ‘damaging psychological impact [due] to a lack of accurate information…[manifesting] as negative self-assessments of health, belief in a shortened life expectancy, lack of initiative, and dependency on assistance from the state.’

“In other words, the greatest damage to the people of Chernobyl was caused by bad information. These people weren’t blighted by radiation so much as by terrifying but false information. We ought to ponder, for a minute, exactly what that implies. We demand strict controls on radiation because it is such a health hazard. But Chernobyl suggests that false information can be a health hazard as damaging as radiation. I am not saying radiation is not a threat. I am not saying Chernobyl was not a genuinely serious event.

“But thousands of Ukrainians who didn’t die were made invalids out of fear. They were told to be afraid. They were told they were going to die when they weren’t. They were told their children would be deformed when they weren’t. They were told they couldn’t have children when they could. They were authoritatively promised a future of cancer, deformities, pain and decay. It’s no wonder they responded as they did.”

If you’ve read my blog regularly, you know that I’ve given attention for a few days to the plight of gossip. Perhaps one of the greatest needs among believers today is to guard our tongues. Disseminating false information (or even factual information shared for the purpose of hurting someone else’s reputation) can be crippling…and has no place among Christians.

Ask God today for a “gossip audit.” Ask Him to reveal any areas in which you’ve been careless with your words (or in listening to someone else’s). Perhaps meditate on Matthew 12:34-37 and/or James 3:2-12…