I know that as Americans our freedoms are emblematic of who we are as Americans. Freedom of choice is the bedrock of our governing system. Sure, one can argue that we don't actually have a lot of the freedoms we should but for the most part we are free to choose. And choose we will.
When it comes to COVID, the vaccine and our personal right to choose I'll admit there's an ugly, authoritarian part of me that says, "to hell with your personal liberties, you WILL get the vaccine." I know, I know, that's not right and I admit I need to work on my impulsive nature to want people to do the right thing. My best friend, who's a doctor and Army veteran, reminded me that this really does need to be a matter of choice and I do, ultimately, believe that. But he is also quite animated when it comes to ignorance, pettiness and selfishness of those who refuse to get vaccinated. From a medical perspective, there is virtually no reason not to get vaccinated. In fact there's a social and moral obligation to get vaccinated because this virus affects ALL of us.
Certainly anything "mandated" contradicts our personal freedoms. But we all know mandates exist. You can't drive 80 mph in a school zone, or at least you shouldn't. And when it comes to vaccine mandates they've been in our schools for decades. But there really is a dilemma when it comes to the idea of mandates. For example, most who say a mandate should be in place forcing a woman to bring a pregnancy to term are the same ones that say there should be NO mandate when it comes to the vaccine. Aren't both mandates technically about saving lives? I mean one could loosely argue that choosing not to get vaccinated is the same as having an abortion because ultimately someone is going to die. Yes, a straw man argument, but when you think about it, a woman only aborts a single child. An asymptomatic carrier can potentially infect and ultimately kill hundreds of people. This is not an argument for or against abortion but those who are against abortion and against the vaccine can't really defend their positions without contradicting themselves. Soooo, is this a matter of choosing which lives should be saved and which shouldn't? If that's the case, who determines that and whoever that might be, what gives them the right to make that determination? Now we're dabbling in subjective morality and that opens a whole other can of worms.
Perhaps my failure is assuming too much when it comes to the choices of my fellow citizens. Of course real freedom of choice means having the freedom to choose poorly, selfishly, ignorantly, stupidly. I don't consider myself a smart man but when I see something so incredibly obvious it shocks me to see others who don't, or as I suppose, choose not to see. One would've thought that the Information Age would usher in another Age of Enlightenment but it's only served to sink our collective ignorance to greater depths. There is far more false information out there than true. And given the lazy, self-serving, self-indulgent nature of our citizens, the idea of spending any amount of energy to get to the truth is tantamount to trying to scale Mount Everest with an elephant on your back. Fears over the vaccine are unfounded, plain and simple. There's tremendous amount of information to corroborate that. And for my fellow Christians who think the vaccine is the mark of the beast, for goodness sake go read the Bible. But most Americans are too willing to accept things they hear on face value rather than taking a couple of minutes, a few mouse clicks, to get to the truth.
Ultimately we can't assume people will do the right thing. Getting the vaccine IS the right thing. Not just for ourselves but for the people around us. But yes, we are free to choose. And with the authority to choose comes the responsibility of accepting the consequences of those choices. That could mean no longer having access to schools, theaters, restaurants, airplanes or any number of public places. Perhaps that might even mean limited access to health care. I mean, if you think this virus is no big deal and you don't need a vaccine, then if you get infected with COVID what makes you think you should be entitled to medical care or at least, why should you be prioritized over those with other health conditions? I know that sounds harsh but I'd prefer not to make it easy for people to be stupid but I guess that's their right.
I know this is uncomfortable for many to hear but this is the time where we have to think beyond ourselves. Perhaps we need to go back to the words of John F. Kennedy and, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." But I have to remember that Kennedy was a Democrat and given our current political climate many will say it's a call to socialism. <insert face palm> Oh well. I guess when it comes to COVID, we should consider the words of Captain Kirk when it came to the Klingons, "Let them die." And no, I don't believe that.
