I have been thinking a lot about this whole anti-mask/anti-vaccine versus ‘freedom’ issue and I’ve decided that I’ve been wrong about this whole thing. I think we should do away with all of the mask and vaccine mandates and let people exercise their freedom. I agree with the Republican governors, like our own Governor Gianforte, who simply state that they trust people to make the right decisions. This will, of course, cost more American lives, but what’s a few lives as a price for freedom?
And as long as we’re at it, I think, since we have so much faith in our citizens to make the right decisions, we should repeal the laws against drunk driving and driving while talking on cell phones. Certainly, people know that driving while impaired or distracted is dangerous, so we can rest assured that people will make the correct decision. Although, just standing on the street corner at any given time and counting the number of cars that pass by operated by someone with a phone up to their ear, does give one pause. Here in Montana, we have one of the highest drunk driving rates in the country so, again, one wonders just how much trust we should put in people to make the correct decisions but perhaps people choose to drive drunk just because its against the law as some form of protest.
Countless studies have shown that driving while impaired or distracted lead to a higher probability of getting into an accident and higher incidences of fatalities. However, what’s a few more lives lost if people are able to exercise their freedom?
I think we should also repeal all of the anti-smoking laws in the country and trust that people will make the correct decision with regard to where and when to smoke. I understand that there are countless studies showing the adverse effects of secondhand smoke on people who are not smoking but people should have the right to smoke if they choose, even if it costs a few more American lives. Perhaps we could even bring back the smoking section on airplanes. I’m old enough to remember when those existed and how effective they were at containing the smoke on aircraft! What’s a few lives as a price for freedom?
We should also consider repealing all of the laws in most states that require a suite of vaccines for children to enroll in school. I certainly remember how much fun it was to have the chicken pox at the same time I had a broken arm with a cast on it! Every child should know the fun and joy of suffering through measles, mumps, and chickenpox. We know that chickenpox is very contagious so just imagine the schools when a couple of kids with chickenpox show up and it spreads like wildfire through the school because no one is vaccinated! The good old days? There will, of course, be an increase in childhood deaths if we repeal the laws requiring vaccinations to enroll in schools, but it’s a small price to pay for freedom. We can certainly sacrifice a few children on the altar of freedom. I think the Aztecs used to do things like that so its certainly not without precedent.
Over the years, thousands of American men and women have fought and died to defend America and allow us to have the freedoms we have today.
World War I 116, 516 deaths
World War II 405,399 deaths
Korean War 36,574 deaths
Vietnam 58,220 deaths1
Adding those up totals to 616,709 deaths in these modern conflicts but does not include the casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan. So far, the pandemic has killed 660,00 Americans in the last two years, with no end in sight, and the people who are so anti-mask and anti-vaccine continue to insist that they are exercising their constitutional freedoms that all of the men and women fought and died for in the wars listed above.
I have to wonder if all of the men and women who gave their lives in these wars to protect America, its Constitutional form of government, their fellow citizens, and the right to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ would agree that they fought to allow American citizens to exercise their ‘freedom’ even if that freedom resulted in the needless and preventable deaths of other Americans?
I suspect the large majority of Americans (including me) would agree that we need laws against drunk and impaired driving, against smoking in confined spaces, in support of vaccinations for children attending school and other public health measures because they have proven to save lives and make the country safer for us all. I personally believe that it is doing a huge disservice and, frankly, quite insulting to all of those who have fought and died for this country to undermine and pervert the concept of freedom that they sacrificed so much for.
Freedom without responsibility is just anarchy. Let freedom ring!