To the Editor:
Patt Reid in his editorial posits valid points about vaccine effectiveness and the science of side effects, but his bias against personal liberty and choice is evident in the last sentence: “To use an old expression: if you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” Whether Mr. Reid knows it or not, such a statement further divides the populace and pits fellow citizens against one another. As such, it is part and parcel of the current administration, its minions, and the socialist handbook. If the public had a true debate about the entire Covid-19 nightmare, there would indeed be more respect on both sides.
In the late 1800’s and even the recent past, it was Republicans who were on the side of social liberals pushing for racial justice amongst the racist Democrat regime, both in the north and the south. Conservative and libertarian movements now champion personal liberty aligned with true freedom, such as firearm ownership and freedom of association. Leftists, aligned with monolithic Democrats, push for government oversight from womb to tomb, which requires more taxes and bureaucracy. The bloated bureaucracy, due to its innate lack of institutional accountability, then runs amok. It maligns and attacks our sovereign liberties in light of “wokeness” or whatever the crony capitalist flavor of the day. The press abounds in many instances of conservatives ousted from jobs and social groups because they did not tow the line. How can even the most classically liberal amongst us not see the fascism in this behavior?
A review here. If you are a legal citizen of the United States, you are a sovereign person and free to meet, think, organize, and conduct commerce with whomever you want, within the confines of law and order. This stems from our liberty and freedoms derived from our Creator, not the government. Government is created to establish law and order. Within law and order ideally exists justice, which protects – not gives – our certain, inalienable rights from tyranny of other people or the government. Therefore, if indeed you believe the state dictates what rights we “have”, you infringe upon all sovereign individuals, including your own self. We are already endowed with such rights. How can the government “grant” them to us?
I am not saying all laws and legislation lead to fascism, nor am I insinuating Mr. Reid is a socialist. We’ve certainly learned during the pandemic there are many sides to debate. But perhaps stances that affect law abiding citizens’ freedoms are steps towards removing liberty. This discussion is quite deep, and to go deeper requires listening and healthy debate. And get this...your neighbor, your coworker, your brother or sister, they may not agree with you. It seems as if many folks these days are a quite foggy that true liberty leads to differences of opinion. For the sake of a free, diverse society, we must truly “get along” while fulfilling our vocation’s duties, be it as a worker, mother, father, soldier, leader, lawmaker.....but we cannot establish such respect while yelling and screaming and censoring one another on Facebook and Twitter and in the marketplace.
Most often, it seems as if leftists prefer to avoid debate and transparency, and resort to censorship, and litigation. Is there something to be said about that? Perhaps. But we will never know if they continue to censor debate, ignore the legislative process, and avoid their neighbors and coworkers. If indeed it comes to two societies, I will of course choose the free and prosperous America, where sovereign peoples truly are the solution. In which society will you live?
Paul Anderson
Ogdensburg