Written by Andrew Morris
In light of the ever-looming threat of coronavirus for most Americans, California’s dictator-in-chief Gavin Newsom has reinstated mandatory mask mandates. Meanwhile, 300 miles away in Colorado, Governor Jared Polis has admonished further harsh measures outside the vaccine, differentiating between arbitrary threat and preventable disease.
As many people know, Newsom’s mask mandate was reinstated today as a means of combating the virus which ravages California and threatens the populace.
Or so he would like you to think at least, as more than half of the population is fully vaccinated with at least one booster shot. According to reports, the risk of catching the virus after having these shots is below 10% at the most. From this, it is very clear that for the population that are considered “safe” from the virus, the probability of them getting it is extremely low, let alone having serious medical complications. Thus it would make sense that coronavirus procedures should be getting less restricting, because the only people who are seriously at risk are the unvaccinated, who at this point have chosen to refrain from the injection.
This is the exact sentiment that Governor Polis holds. In a recent press release, he said, “Our top goal is always to follow the science, and there was a time when there was no vaccine, and masks were all we had, and we needed to wear them.” It is very clear that for the first several months of the Pandemic, masks seemed like the only viable—if temporary—option. Polis added, “The truth is we now have highly effective vaccines that work far better than masks… You don’t tell people to wear a jacket when they go out in winter and force them to [wear it]. If they get frostbite, it’s their own darn fault.”
This mindset is an excellent way to see the crisis, and is an especially effective way of making future decisions. You cannot sacrifice the freedom of the majority because a few citizens do not comply.
Evidently however, Governor Newsom does not possess this type of common sense, and has instead decreed that everyone must re-mask themselves for another vague period of time until he changes the policy again on a whim from his chair in The French Laundry.
Truly the whole problem comes down to the belief in the ability of every individual to think and decide for themselves. Whether they wish to get the vaccine to help in stopping the virus, or to abstain for fear of its side-effects. When the government steps in such as Newsom has, it strips the individual of these rights by inconveniencing them to the point of compliance.
In reality, the role of the government is not to subjugate its people but instead to allow them to form their own beliefs and make their own decisions based on their best judgement, just as Governor Polis has decided to establish.
Photo Cred: AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File
