The so-called “Freedom Convoy” has got it all wrong. Freedom is not a one-way street. Freedom comes with responsibility. It is not cheap. The down payment on ours was made by our ancestors, many of them teenagers. Some of them did not volunteer to serve- they were conscripted. They understood service and sacrifice. Apparently it’s time for a refresher course on those concepts.
Vaccine mandates, like other rules, give us freedom- to congregate, to dine indoors, to go to a sporting event. No one is being forced to be vaccinated and in fact, some people can’t for health reasons and face their own unique challenges. But when those who are willingly unvaccinated clog our hospitals and delay treatment for others, their “rights” affect us all. We have lockdowns to protect our hospital staff and health care workers. We need our hospitals to be able to help us when we have a health crisis, whether it’s due to a heart attack, a car accident or complications from COVID.
Vaccination requirements are not new. School children must be immunized against a variety of illnesses to attend school. We are free from a number of serious diseases- polio and smallpox, for example- thanks to those mandatory vaccines.
Wear a mask, don’t congregate indoors, get vaccinated if you can. All of these actions increase our freedom- everyone’s.
We are all frustrated and weary. It’s more important and more difficult than ever to be kind to each other. Isn’t February a month where we show some love? Let’s do it. KG