In Washington DC this week a procession of marches. The latest looks anti-mandate or antivax or something, but maybe they need to turn pro to make it look good. Like the last one. The link lists seven speakers, of which four have the title “Dr.” Because, of course, it makes sense for antivaxxers to prop up their wishful thinking with the select views of selected members of the medical establishment. There’s a lawyer and a politician too.
It reminds me of the childhood protest “You can’t make me do it!” And I think we’ve located the maturity of this bit of modern politics.
For the record, I do think people should be free to decline a vaccine. That decision bears certain adult responsibilities, including:
- wearing masks around other people
- keeping socially distant also, especially children and at-risk adults. In venues where one isn’t sure if unfamiliar people are at-risk, six-feet plus away is a good choice
- best of all, remaining absent from groups of young people and the elderly.
- working from home if working from an isolated office isn’t possible.
- accepting new job possibilities when needed
I know the mandates are part of a litigious culture where bosses and corporations want to cover their butts when people who feel victimized by the self-centered among us want recompense for insult, if not injury. I’m sure a constitutional law scholar could explain.
Getting back to the labelling, anti-abortion efforts have long self-identified as pro-life. That’s sometimes true, and sometimes fake news. How would antivax folks go pro? Pro-freedom might be tempting, but workplaces and schools and hospitals and planes, trains, and non-private automobiles might say they have the freedom to be safe.
If I decided I wanted to wear a mask, maybe I just define that as pro-freedom–I want to be free of facial recognition software tracking my every movement in the world. Maybe people think their commutes are getting too slow, and we need to be free of speed limits. Which just slow down the economy as well as American roadways.
On second thought, the protests all sound a bit adolescent to me. Maybe it’s time to grow up and go to work instead of complaining.
Catholic Sensibility 