Whose Freedom is more important?

So I usually avoid politics but I have something to say. 

Everybody should have a choice of what  to put or not put in their body. Yes I am talking about vaccines, specifically the covid 19 vaccine. There has been much information and misinformation spread by doctors, nurses, celebrities and others. I chose to take my health information from medical professionals. I figure they would be the most informed. 

Do big pharmaceuticals have a mission to make money? Of course they do. How do you think they got to be big pharmaceuticals?  This an issue for a different day. Today I want to say something about public health. 

As I said, you have a right to not get vaccinated. But you also must understand that their will be consequences to that choice, as with any choice. Your right to extend your arm ends at the tip of my nose. When your choices or actions are putting other people at risk, then it is the responsibility of authorities to place limitations on your movements. People have been charged with crimes for not divulging their HIV status to their sexual partners. Mary Mallon’s (Typhoid Mary) had her movements restricted because, though she showed no symptoms, she infected many with typhoid when working in kitchen. She infected 53 people and at least 3 people died as a result. 

In neither of these cases do I think the authorities were unfounded in their actions. Whether you believe it or not, covid 19 is real and a pandemic. People have died. Whether these were elderly or young adults, it makes no difference. They were all people and they all died. As a member of society and my community it is my responsibility to take the concerns of my fellow human beings into consideration when making my personal choices. If not, then my community has an obligation to keep itself safe. 

If I were to drink and drive, I am endangering other people, and my driver’s license should be revoked.  If I am not vaccinated for a disease that kills, my movements should be restricted, for the safety of others. 

The Trucker Protesters are angry with the Federal Government and the rest of us are suffering. People have been laid off because of lack of supplies. Their fellow truckers are waiting more than 9 hours at the Ambassador Bridge to cross the border and bring goods to Canadians. Billions of dollars are being lost in trade. The Village of Couts Alberta was completely cut off. When that blockade wound down, authorities found a considerable amount of weapons. If the protests were to be peaceful, why the guns?  

People comparing themselves to the Jewish population of Europe during the Holocaust is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. The Jewish people were not endangering their neighbours. They were denied basic human rights based on faith not an illness. They were worked to death, subject to inhumane experiments against their will, and eventually put to death in a horrible way.

 How dare truck drivers who are being required to be vaccinated because they are crossing borders, to areas that have low vaccination rates, who risk bringing a deadly virus back to their families and friends even think that they are in any way persecuted as were the European Jewish during the 1930’s and 1940’s. 

Lets face it, this an experience that most of us have not had before and I hope that we never have to again. But if it means that for the safety of my family and community, I am willing to err on the side of caution, for my sake and yours.