FREEDOM IS NOT PARADISE
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
While some of the restrictions around COVID have whipsawed our views on reach v. overreach by our governments – we live under the perceived freedom of democracy, free and fair elections, but with limitations on what actions police and military are directed to take.
Compared to many regimes in the world, this is paradise.
People here are free, we think we are, and even though many things are regulated, we don’t live under an oppressive regime.
Imagine if COVID-19 wasn’t infecting humans – then, what would happen?
If it were cats that were infected, we’d round them up and terminate them. If chickens, or pigs, we’d purge them too – and that’s happened in Canada and many other countries when there has been a virus spreading among domesticated and farmed critters – because those animals aren’t just cute, they’re our food supply.
Imagine if cattle got COVID – wouldn’t every rancher in the country and ever feedlot operator be giving their cows the vaccine? I don’t think the cows would question whether they got one shot or two or which brand they got – our democratic society would inoculate them all, or we’ll be faced with having to destroy them all if the disease was to spread too fast or too widely.
No, it’s not a smallpox.
Nor is it a ‘strenuous flu.’
But COVID-19 isn’t infecting the food supply; it’s infecting us.
If some government on this planet decided, and its citizens consented, we could inoculate everyone – anti-vaxxers and all.
Their choice could be, ‘get vaccinated, or leave the country right now.’
Yes, that would be draconian; it would be the law.
But, imagine the reduction in grief and loss of life.
I want all my freedom, and among my freedom expectations in this country/province with incredibly high-quality health care is to be safe. I believe we’ll be safe with herd immunity. We’d be safer still with enforced vaccinations. However, many of my fellow citizens may disagree, feeling that interferes with their rights to freedom and safety – and their protests suggest this is somehow new.
We all recognize the right of government, on behalf of everyone, to enforce seatbelts and their use. It saves lives, saves health care costs – and doesn’t otherwise restrict anyone’s freedom. I believe having everyone vaccinated against COVID-19 is the same thing, the same issue, that of a society having the right to protect us all by regulating us all, period!
Reader feedback:
You’re dead for a long time. Seize the day, SB, Calgary, AB
|