Unless you live under a rock you have noticed the vaccination mandate protest on campus. With just a little effort you will find that mandate protest exists all around the nation. The common reason for a mandate protest is given as excessive government overreach.
I see this as endemic of a larger problem in America. I see the mandate issue as a breakdown in our fundamental governing process. The United States government is best thought of as a Constitutional Democratic Republic. That is, we elect our leaders who then propose laws through the legislative process. The laws, limited by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, are then approved by the executive branch, and we have a law.
In the case of vaccine mandates and/or mask mandates, the normal governing process is bypassed and only one person issues an “executive order” in which the entire population is mandated to comply. This type of governing process is called a monarchy and is fundamentally opposed to what Americans call “our way of life.” Citizens are justified to protest.
With any law there will be unexpected consequences, but the legislative debate process tends to minimize the impact of these consequences. With a mandate which states comply or have your job terminated, the consequences to the people and the nation are in uncharted territory. This is a very reckless way to govern given the decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in the nation and the availability of vaccines for those who want it. The actual mandate is already obsolete before it even takes effect.
Society has much larger issues today. Suicide is a top killer of young adults; obesity in America is at epidemic levels. Not to mention the resulting health issues lead to heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. One in three American adults today are considered pre-diabetic. Our nation is plagued with crime, poor education, mental health issues, federal budget deficits and work force shortages. The requirement to get a vaccine or lose your job is completely counterproductive.
In America we cherish our freedoms. Our country was founded on freedom. My heart goes out to those who have lost a loved one to the sickness, but it also goes out to those who are now forced to determine if they will choose to lose their present livelihood standing up for the freedoms they believe in. No one should ever be in that situation. For now, all we can say is when God closes one door, he will open another. We can only hope the courts will step in and stop this mandate. With the current situation, the obligation of citizens to participate in their own governing process is more important now than ever.