3. The Quarantine Next Door

           This article by Adrienne LaFrance, a senior associate editor at The Atlantic, explores the concept of quarantining the ill and its difference from isolating the ill. She informs the reader about the concept of quarantining which means to cut off a person from the rest of society and talks about many different cases of quarantining the diseased and mention some cases that are surprisingly in recent human history. LaFrance even goes back more into human history, mentioning the Old Testament and how the lepers were separated from the rest of society. Quarantining has even been used in cases for smallpox, 14^th century’s outbreak in Europe, and for a short time for the astronauts returning from space in case of ‘moon germs’. The problem with quarantining is that it somewhat violates human rights, but it is for the greater good and majority of society therefore it has been debated quite a lot in the past and still to this day. Modern ‘quarantining’ more improved because it is more of an isolation than an actual quarantine. Isolation is the separation of ill to stop the spread of diseases while quarantining is restricting of the rights of a human being for the good of the population. The article ends with a view from the opposing perspective, telling the story of Hawaiian legend, “Koolau the Leper” and how he resisted being treated like a criminal and forcefully being moved away from his family when he did not commit crime nor any wrongs.

             Adrienne LaFrance seems to, based on her writing, agree with both the fact that the government should respect the rights of all people and the fact that quarantining is a necessity for society to function properly. She is informative and shows very little of her opinion in the matter. She informs in a reliable way by constantly quoting professionals and by being unbiased toward the topic. She is strictly informing and uses generalizing pronouns to address the audience as a whole. LaFrance ends well with a story of a Hawaiian legend leaving the reader to stop and give a thought about the concept and modern uses of quarantining. 

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/the-quarantine-next-door/375465/