Recently I read an article in the Epoch Times, a conservative newspaper, by Darin Lee Murphy that brings up the normalization of government mandates from COVID-19. Mask mandates, vaccine cards and passports, social distancing measures, lockdowns, and fines or penalties for anyone disobeying have been put in place by government agencies (even the CDC has put mandates in effect even though they have no power to do so) meant to safeguard the health and well-being of the public. Most parts of a normal day (education, employment, socializing, shopping, etc.) has been altered for a virus that can make you feel especially ill but has a less than 1% chance of being fatal.
For me, this doesn’t make sense and opens us up to the risk of any governmental agency (state, local, or federal) to continue to implement more mandates under the premise that it is for the greater good. Will they start telling me where I can vacation? Oh wait, they are already doing that. Will they start telling me where I can go to college? Oh wait, they are trying to do that. Will they tell me I can no longer go out to dinner or shopping without my card? Sounds familiar. Will they start telling people they will lose their jobs or place in school if they don’t get a vaccine? Guess what; they are already doing that.
If any form of government, whether local or state or federal, can now impose some type of COVID mandate under the guise of being in the best interest of the general public, then what is to stop them from imposing other mandates? If individual counties and school boards can impose mask or vaccine requirements in order to attend in-person class, then who is to say that it will end with COVID-19? Perhaps they will require students to get the HPV vaccine or only students without any pre-existing health issues can attend? Maybe even require staff and students to wear a highly visible patch or arm band if they are not vaccinated … or go to school in a different part of town. Hmmm… I feel like this has happened before. On a bigger scale, if there is a state or federal vaccine mandate, then what is to stop them from reversing huge supreme court decisions such as a person’s right to choose or gay marriage or integration? Once Democrats have solidified their position of mask and vaccine mandates, what’s to say that Republicans won’t place a mandate in place that bans abortion or gay marriages?
I have yet to see a government that has taken away any rights from its people give them back willingly. Have you?
I fear that we are allowing a dark and mysterious box to be opened and will not be able to close it. This makes me worry deeply for our country’s future.