Modern marketing hype is turning us into a society of frightened rabbits. A steady stream of TV commercials, advertising messages and stories in the media continuously assault Americans with dire warnings, day in and day out. Unfortunately, fear and panic sell, and good news doesn’t.

So, we get mostly bad news. Even the news programs hype and dramatize the negative, sometimes bordering on outright misrepresentation, in an effort to induce people to tune in for more. The litany of dangers, real and imagined, is endless.

Consider the following examples of the types of information the media routinely dish up to get our attention:

» War, terrorism and social strife have become every day fare in our lives.

» Washing our hands with soap and water and wiping them on a towel is no longer adequate. We’re told that we should use wipes with the proper amount of disinfectant to avoid germs. Supermarkets now have disinfectant wipes available in dispensers so customers can be sure to cleanse the handles of shopping carts before entering the store.

» The drug companies have mounted a major marketing barrage to convince the public that we have, or are at risk of getting, just about every affliction or disorder known to humanity: high blood pressure, acid reflux disease, erectile dysfunction, diabetes, urinary tract problems, attention-deficit disorder, hypertension, arthritis, anxiety, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, restless leg syndrome, and a host of other “syndromes,” diseases and aliments most of us never heard of or knew existed until we were assaulted by the flood of commercials that are beamed at us over the airwaves every day.

» Out-of-control spread of diseases will wipe out most of the world’s population: AIDS, H1N1, the West Nile virus and a host of other runaway infections eventually will kill us all.

» Nonstop media coverage of assaults, murder, kidnapping, rape and child molestation is making people increasingly fearful.

» Intense 24/7 coverage of natural disasters — from hurricanes in Florida and the Gulf Coast to tornadoes in the Midwest, earthquakes around the world, tsunamis in Asia, volcanoes, floods and uncontrolled forest fires — further heighten our insecurities, making famine, starvation and massive loss of life commonplace occurrences.

» Genetic engineering of animals and our food supply eventually will lead to unimagined consequences and result in disaster.

» Uncontrolled illegal immigration is threatening our culture and burdening social services beyond capacity. Our educational and health-care systems are unable to cope with the demands put on them.

» Smokers are poisoning the very air we breathe. If it isn’t controlled — prevented — we will all die of lung cancer.

» The oil and coal industries generate massive amounts of pollutants — enough to poison the atmosphere beyond repair — and nuclear power will kill untold masses of people. We have to put them all out of business or they will eventually kill us all.

» Global warming is about to destroy civilization. The polar cap is melting. Oceans will rise and flood the world’s coastal cities.

» Ongoing population expansion eventually will result in mass starvation. With 6.5 billion people on the Earth, and growing exponentially, we will soon reach the point of no return, where there no longer will be sufficient resources to sustain them all.

» Our profligate ways are destroying animal species at an unprecedented rate and upsetting the balance of nature.

» AIDS, the potential of an avian flu pandemic and other diseases too numerous to mention are springing up everywhere and will eventually kill millions of people.

Gloom and doom engulf us 24/7. The litany of negative messages is endless. Where does it stop? Should we all just crawl into a hole and hide? 

But notwithstanding the constant flow of bad news, we continue to tune in to the over-hyped, around-the-clock media coverage of human tragedy and disaster. 

Despite the fact that the overreaching and negative coverage of events often makes it seem like we are drowning in a sea of disaster, I don’t think so. Most Americans still appear to function well, work hard, raise families and believe they can continue to get ahead if they play by the rules. Their belief is clearly demonstrated by the overwhelming number of immigrants who continue to come here seeking the freedom and opportunity to do just that.

— Harris R. Sherline is a retired CPA and former chairman and CEO of Santa Ynez Valley Hospital who has lived in Santa Barbara County for more than 30 years. He stays active writing opinion columns and his blog, Opinionfest.com.