“The science tells us the vaccines are 95 percent effective, so if you have a vaccine, quite honestly, what do you care if your neighbor has one or not? What is it to you?” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., April 22.
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31
On Jan. 21, 2020, the first U.S. case of COVID-19 was confirmed. The death toll began climbing quickly, with over 580,938 Americans now dead.
Even with mitigation protocols, hospitals and health care workers were rapidly overcome. It became clear that the only way out of the growing pandemic was to create a vaccine that would protect everyone.
Scientists from the U.S. and other countries got to work. In less than a year, three effective vaccines were produced. President Donald Trump was happy to take credit for this achievement, and that’s fine.
However, many of the same Republicans who crowed about this scientific breakthrough were hesitant to actually take the vaccine. They wanted credit but they didn’t want to actually do what was necessary to stop the pandemic in its tracks. They were suspicious of the very vaccines they credited Trump with producing.
Many of the anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers want to claim that protecting themselves and others from this deadly disease is an infringement on their “freedoms.” They claim to be pro-life, but seem to think their personal “freedom” is more important than anyone else’s right to life and health.
There’s an old saying that goes, “Your right to extend your fist ends where my nose begins.” Too many Republicans today seem to think their “freedom” to extend their fist should be unlimited, no matter who gets hurt. Any responsibility to those who might be injured is irrelevant to them.
America wasn’t founded on self-centeredness. Our Declaration of Independence ends with the words “…we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Our Constitution begins with the words “We the people,” not “Me First.”
The founders knew that working together was the only way we would win our independence. Unfortunately, too many Republicans today seem to think their individual rights should override everything else, even public safety.
Medical experts know we won’t be able to get back to a more normal life until we achieve what is called Herd Immunity. Israel is an example of this. They kept their mask mandate until they had about 81 percent of the eligible population fully vaccinated; now the country is opening up safely. And I doubt Israelis felt like their freedoms were being stifled. (Reuters, April 20)
In this country, vaccines are having a dramatic effect. “According to U.S. government statistics, hospitalizations are down more than 50%, but most dramatically among senior citizens… Two-thirds of American senior citizens are fully vaccinated.” (Associated Press, April 22)
This should be great news. Sadly, however, we are reaching a point where too many people are resisting getting vaccinated. They don’t seem to care that they are endangering other people’s lives and threatening the breakdown of our whole medical system.
Health care workers are getting burned out in ways we’ve never seen before. Many have quit; some have even committed suicide. “According to a Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll, roughly 3 in 10 health-care workers have weighed leaving their profession. More than half are burned out. And about 6 in 10 say stress from the pandemic has harmed their mental health.” (Washington Post, April 22)
Instead of working to help, too many Republican leaders, such as Sen. Johnson above, are loudly opposing the life-saving measures that have been developed, such as making sure everyone is vaccinated. In this way, they show how far from pro-life and biblical values they really are.
In another example, on March 18, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., accused infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci of theatrics when Fauci wore a mask after being vaccinated. Wearing a mask is not theatrics; it’s being a good role model and loving your neighbor.
On April 23, Fauci responded to these attacks. “We have 567,000 people who have died so far in this country from this disease. That is a really, really good reason to get people vaccinated, with a vaccine that you’ve shown is highly efficacious and quite safe.”
When I extend my fist, I don’t have the right to punch you in the face. Putting our individual “freedoms” above the good of society accomplishes nothing but chaos. To paraphrase Johnson, what’s it to me? Our neighbors’ well-being should matter to everyone.
Jeanette Strong, whose column appears every other week, is a Nevada Press Association award-winning columnist. She may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.
