#77: Freedom for Everyone (PART 1)

【Vaccine】
Person A: “I don’t think I’ll get COVID. Even if I do, really, I’m not scared because I’m healthy, young, and quite fit. So, most likely it’ll be asymptomatic or fairly mild. On the other hand, I don’t trust the vaccine that’s been rushed through the approval process, and to begin with, I have my freedom to say no.”
 
Now and again, we come across such comments like Person A’s.
 
To be sure, we all have freedom. Or at the very least, we all should. And our choice to get vaccinated or not is certainly one of freedom.
 
Yet, the troubling sign is that Person A seems to believe getting the COVID vaccine shot only serves him/herself.
 
The highly transmissible and deadly respiratory viruses like the Delta variant emerge as people infect each other with the novel coronavirus whereby the virus enters our cells, replicates, and in that process frequently mutates. To prevent these mutations and variants, it’s imperative that we reduce the infections to begin with.
 
In particular, it’s crucial that we join as one to protect those who are more vulnerable including people with serious underlying health conditions, immunocompromised individuals, our elderly seniors, those who can’t get COVID vaccine due to their prior severe allergic reaction to vaccines, and younger children who aren’t yet authorized to be inoculated.
 
It’s essential that we join as one to help our medical professionals who are overwhelmed as the Delta variant drives increasing hospitalizations, and patients with chronic health conditions who struggle to receive their regular medical care. 
 
For those of us who have little risk of allergic reaction to vaccines and meet the age requirement, getting inoculated is indeed our responsibility as member of the society to protect our loved ones, our community, and everyone around the world as best we can.
 
Consequently, suppose that we do believe in I won’t get COVID/I’m not scared. Even then, as a compassionate adult who respectfully cares for each and every one of us in the world, we must do our very best to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Not to become those who talk Freedom but in truth reveal Selfishness with little regard to others. Indeed, our actions speak louder than our words.
 
Notably in the US and Europe, we see heightened tension surrounding the Freedom to refuse vaccination, let alone wear a mask.
 
From police to military, most often portraying themselves as the Heroes risking their own to protect our life and livelihood. Even amongst our uniformed men and women, we come across quite a few who talk Freedom but reveal Selfishness with regard to vaccination and masks. From this disparity, we can see through their true motive being not so much To protect our life and livelihood.
 
Last month, a tragic incident shook the town of Idar-Oberstein in Germany. A 20-year-old student working at a gas station was shot and killed by an unmasked 49-year-old man after asking that he wear a mask. The killer insists that his rights were intruded and “saw no other way out.”
 
A man who talks of his own Freedom to not wear a mask permanently took away a student worker’s most basic Freedom to live.
 
Freedom to kill; freedom to live.
Freedom to own guns; freedom to live without fear of gun violence.
 
We all have freedom. We all should.
 
And without compassion to respectfully care for each and every one of us in the world, it can’t be freedom for all.
 
To be fair, individual freedom can’t be overtly suppressed all the time. For that’s the reason why nationalism, socialism, and communism have the tendency to fall into the trap of authoritarianism and fascism.
 
For those reasons, as a responsible adult, as a responsible member of our society, we shall fully enjoy our own freedom. And, with compassion to respectfully care for each and every one of us in the world, we shall self-control our own freedom as well.
 
To sustain everyone’s freedom and the freedom for all, we shall act with self-control guided by self-discipline, especially when our individual freedom may potentially morph into violating other people’s life, livelihood, and dignity.

Read Next: Freedom for Everyone (2)【Hate Speech】

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