Jiheisho wrote:
Quote:
Interesting. I am conservative, but do not agree with mandatory vaccinations. I have stated before on this site that I feel individual freedom should be preserved to the fullest extent possible without having outright anarchy and people killing, attacking, and stealing from each other. I believe in a minimum of government interference. Although I identify as a conservative, I strongly oppose government surveillance of its citizens also. Unless they give authorities strong reason to believe they are doing something illegal.
Individual freedoms are important. The questions of what government should do and what it shouldn't is also important. But societies cannot only consider individual rights, but also collective ones. For example, if someone has an activity that pollutes the water supply of the community. Should that person be able to do so? Or does that person have a collective responsibility? And should a member of the community individually try to stop that person or should they have collective mechanisms like the courts and laws?
Instead of pollution, we taking about behavior that spreads disease? Is that different? Perhaps. Not an easy question. Does the type of disease matter? Polio, a horrible and common childhood disease, was eliminated through vaccination. The benefits to not only individuals but society as a whole were great. On the other end are flu shots. But the flu is not as deadly or debilitating. Where does COVID come in this scheme? So far, we have had about 200,000 deaths with COVID and about 35,000 death in the last flu season. The COVID pandemic is still ongoing and so that is not a final number. That is a policy question we as a group need to answer.
I think we are going to have to have this conversation. But mass vaccinations have not been easy:
The fiasco of the 1976 ‘swine flu affair’ (BBC)I, personally, would refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccination. They would have to drag me, kicking and screaming, and forcibly inject me, and I would be fighting tooth and nail. I would rather die for my individuality than submit to government control, all because of a virus that kills only 1 to 2 percent, or less, of those who get it (mostly just the sickly). I would lose my job and give up everything before I do this.
On your hypothetical pollution scenario, what should be done is dependent on a number of factors, not limited to
- How severe the pollution is
- How many people/animals it is likely to affect
- How dangerous/deadly these affects are
- How difficult it would be for the people to stop polluting
And more.
Just about everyone produces a certain amount of pollution, however small. Only when these things pose a serious risk should the government intervene. And people differ as to how serious it has to be. It comes down to splitting hairs.
I agree that it gets dicey with vaccines. With children, it's not their choice to get them or not but the parent's, and it's admittedly a grey area, balancing the parent's rights with the child's safety. I'm not sure what the answer is.
Adults should in no case be forced to get a vaccine. Just as we have the right to refuse medical treatment or drink or smoke, this should be a choice also.
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Nolite te bastardes carborundorum "(Don't let the bastards grind you down)"
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale
"I might be crazy but I ain't dumb"
Cooter, The Dukes of Hazzard
22 Sep 2020, 3:38 pm
