Speaking of threats to liberty, let’s revisit seatbelts, the measles vaccine, traffic lights, murder statutes…


It was interesting to see that, sure as shootin’, some GOP Senators and Congressmen are talking about shutting the government down this Saturday, unless Biden withdraws his vaccination mandates (which are now stayed by federal judges anyway). And just like the last big GOP shutdown in 2013, when Ted Cruz convinced his colleagues to shut the government until Obamacare was repealed, what gets these loonies riled up the most is the idea that government just might make the public’s health better. In 2013, they were mad about the idea of extending insurance to people who didn’t have it (which of course included no Senators or Congressment). In the current case, it’s the idea of vaccinating the public against a virus that has killed 800,000 people, and is now threating a new wave that could be even more deadly – for those who aren’t vaccinated – than the previous waves.

But I must say that I’m beginning to agree with their position. There’s no question that vaccination is a threat to our liberty, although I differ as to how much of a threat it is. But the governments (federal, state and local) daily impose actions on us that are solely in the name of protecting ourselves and others from threats that aren’t certainties but are merely possibilities. As long as we’re banning Covid vaccine mandates, let’s go after some of these other threats to our liberties, including:

1.      Childhood vaccinations. True, they protect both our children and the children they interact with at school from illness, which could be serious. But there’s no certainty that they’ll get sick with any of these diseases. Let’s leave it totally up to the parents to decide whether their kids get any vaccinations at all.

2.      Seat belts. I remember when seat belts were imposed, there was a big hue and cry about them (a lot of it attributed to the car companies, who of course didn’t want to have to increase the price of the cars they sold). I’ve never had an accident where a seat belt saved my life or even prevented serious injury. Let’s get rid of them.

3.      Traffic lights. Isn’t it aggravating to have to wait at a light, while not a single car passes by on the cross street? Why not let people check both ways and cross the street if they’re sure it’s safe?

4.      Murder statutes. Let’s be honest: A lot of killings are done just for the thrill of breaking the law. If we remove that thrill (or make murder a misdemeanor), I’m sure murders will go down. This would save a lot of upstanding citizens like Kyle Rittenhouse the time and expense of having to plead self-defense, knowing full well that the people they killed were trying to defend themselves against a guy pointing a gun at them. However, we might want to keep murder as a felony for people who are robbing someone, since they’re doing it for the money. Fortunately, none of my friends are poor enough to fall in that category.

Of course, there are many more threats to our liberty in pesky government regulations and laws. I just hope those GOP Senators and Congressmen can come up with the full list before Saturday. This will be the biggest blow for liberty since the Declaration of Independence!

I would love to hear any comments or questions you have on this post. Drop me an email at tom@tomalrich.com.

 

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