“When it comes to these gun grabbing, freedom hating, over regulating, civil liberty violating tyrants here’s my message—“ at which point Iowa state representative Bobby Kaufmann raises his middle fingers.
He walks from the lectern to a standing ovation at a rally conducted at the Statehouse.
Well, at least Iowa made national news again!
Last week at a rally for Free Oregon, an anti-mask, anti-vaxx organization, county commissioner, Mary Starrett, issued: “I don’t want to be an accomplice to this lie, that vaccines and masks will keep you healthy.”
Actress Evangeline Lilly said after attending a rally in Washington against vaccine mandates: “Nobody should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will.”
The comments by Starrett and Lilly have been met with tremendous support.
All of these comments are part of a loud, influential, possibly growing, outcry from Americans who are certain they are victims of tyranny. Tyranny of government that exists in their minds without one-thin-wafer of doubt that the left has grown to a power hungry, Borg-like, planet devouring, force of authoritarian, communistic control.
Nothing is going to change the fever pitched conviction of this right-wing spawned perception of progressivism. Nothing.
I am as guilty as anyone of trying to demonstrate reason to this rabid, obscenity laden tirade from modern Republicanism, hoping that the injection of a little truth could be an effective vaccine to this populist virus of low information rhetoric, but as even this article will attest, I’ve gotten nowhere.
All I, or any sentient, critical-thinking, person can do is attempt to rally like-minded people to stay resilient; to keep from losing any of our own to this epidemic of Freedom Fever.
So…to that end, I am going to take the statements above and correct them. Not to convince anyone who stands with Bobby, Mary and Evangeline to alter their view, but to give my side reminders of our own convictions.
I’ll start with “gun grabbing.”
No, Bobby. No guns have been taken. In fact many states have made it easier to get guns. What we “grabbers” have been trying to create is a standard of proficiency with deadly force to decrease accidents and curtail ownership to people who should not have access to deadly force.
We think that assault weapons designed for military use for the express purpose of killing as many humans beings in the shortest time possible, might be an excessive realization of the civilian right to bear arms.
“Freedom haters.”
As one of them I’m not sure what freedom I hate. Bobby supported the freedom of a privately owned business to deny a gay couple a wedding cake, but now he considers the freedom of a privately owned business to mandate vaccines (or masks) in the interest of their employee’s health, to be a violation of…freedom.
Public Health is under the jurisdiction of state government. The 10th Amendment of the Constitution Bobby loves so dearly gives states all powers not specifically given to the federal government, and allows them the authority to take public health emergency actions, such as setting quarantines and business restrictions.
So let’s talk about this public health emergency called Covid 19 that Mary Starrett calls a “lie.”
Contrary to her statement (and Boebert’s and Greene’s and Ingraham’s…it goes on and on)- no one ever said that masks and vaccinations will “keep you healthy.” This understanding requires three dimensional thinking- vaccines (and masks to a small degree of containment) offer better protection and a better chance to minimize the effects and spread of Covid.
They don’t eliminate Covid. Seat belts don’t eliminate death in car accidents either. Vaccines are a well demonstrated (with decades of data) means to give our immune system the information it needs to create the antibodies to fight the invader.
Evangline, I understand your position completely. I agree. There can be no federal government mandate requiring a fluid to be injected into our veins. It is, and must be, a choice we make.
So, let’s talk about what that really means. It’s a “choice” you make. Why do we make choices? Sometimes we choose to drink alcohol which is a proven detriment to our health. We choose cold remedies often without knowing what we are putting in our bodies.
Joe Rogan chooses ivermectin to combat Covid as a parasite. The FDA has not approved ivermectin to fight Covid but it had approved Pfizer’s vaccine. Ivermectin is an unproven agent when ingested by human beings. But that’s a choice Rogan is okay with making. (?)
The vaccine is not a conspiracy of federal government (ostensibly the left wing) to control the population, or to conduct Dr. Mengele type experiments. It is a fast tracked action to restore greater public health in order to restore function to our economy and “general welfare” (more of that constitutional stuff).
So…why Evangeline (and 60% of the Republican Party) are you making the “choice” you are making?
I’ve done nothing here to move any needles metaphorically or literally. As an exercise in getting more truthful intentions into the rhetorical arena, maybe there is language in this to bolster the side I choose to be on. The side demonstrating rational thinking and ideas to counter a revolution of low information that is threatening not only the public health but the fabric of democracy.
(Vaccinate or isolate)
