Bob’s Politics

Anti-Vaxxers and Anti-Maskers

Arguments Against Those Who Believe They Don’t Have to Get Vaccines or Wear Masks

There a several reasons why some people refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and/or to wear masks, but the one reason I am focusing here is “The constitution guarantees me the right of individual freedom and the government has no right to tell me what to do!” or variations of that argument.

My primary argument against that argument against vaccinations and mask-wearing is that there are often cases where one constitutional guarantee conflicts with other constitutional rights of others, in which case there should be an analysis of the situation and some resolution dedided about which right shall prevail, or if there can be some kind of compromise.

In the case of the argument that an individual has the right to decide for themselves whether of not to get vaccinated and/or to wear a masks, this right conflicts with the right of other people to a life safe from health problems and death caused by other people.

The bulk of scientific evidence shows that vaccinations and wearing masks is not just about protecting the health and life of the person vaccinated and wearing a mask. Another very important thing is that if somebody gets the CoVid virus they can pass that disease on to other people, maybe their parents, children, or other people, resulting in their severe illness or death. So getting vaccinated and wearing masks is very important to protect other people, and that is where personal rights conflict with the rights of others.

So I present the following parallels:

• “I have the right to decide for myself whether of not to get vaccinated”.
• “I have the right to decide for myself whether of not to wear a mask.”
• “I have the right to decide for myself whether of not to build a fire in my yard next to my neighbor’s house.”
• “I have the right to decide for myself which side of the street to drive on.”
• “I have the right to decide for myself whether of not to drive when I am drunk.”
• “I have the right to decide for myself whether of not to stop at a red light or stop sign.”
• “I have the right to decide for myself whether of not to park in front of somebody’s house at 2:30 a.m. and play my car stereo with super bass at full volume with my windows down.”
• “I have the right to decide for myself whether of not to yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.”
• “I have the right to decide for myself whether of not to go naked wherever I want.”
• “I have the right to decide for myself whether of not to park in the middle of the street.”
• “I have the right to decide for myself whether of not to burn old tires in my back yard.”
• “I have the right to decide for myself whether of not to shoot a gun into the air over the neighborhood.”

This page was last updated on 11 October 2021.

©2021 Robert M. Fleming Jr.