Freedom
Throughout the world, or at least planet earth, the visit of covid, including its variants, has sparked, or at least intensified passionate debates about individual freedom versus the rights of the larger community. Whether to have mask mandates, vaccinations requirements, and/or other restrictions to prevent or at least greatly slow down the deaths rate from this pandemic are the subjects of ongoing, often heated debates, among medical professionals, politicians, business enterprises, economists, and individual citizens. Inconclusive information, patently false information, educated guesses as well as the views of those whose vision is limited to their immediate needs and very real fears affect how one relates to covid. Even information and recommendations from the United States Centers for Disease Control has frequently changed as personnel there weigh such factors as what would be medically optimal against what might be enforceable and what new information is not yet known.
The pandemic arrived on planet Earth at a time when there was acute trust issues between and among citizens, between and among political groups and between and among medical professionals. Additionally, it arrived at a historic period which boasted public media platforms from various television news stations, Facebook Twitter, You Tube and a host of others. Never in the history of this planet has there been so many ways to disseminate accurate and inaccurate information based on educated scientific guesses as well private and public agendas, fears, and widespread distrust.
It is, thus, not surprising that it has been often impossible to arrive at a single and consistent community plan to move through and past this pandemic.
There is a lot of talk about freedom. Sadly, talk about freedom is often limited to freedom from or freedom to, but seldom is inclusive of both aspects of freedom. In my memory I was first challenged to think of freedom to as well as freedom from in political philosophy class. I had previously been invited to think of freedom in terms of individual freedom to choose a career, to serve my country as a member of the Armed Forces, to choose my religion and to make other individual choices. There was little talk about how individual exercise of freedom might impact the freedom of others.
In recent years in the United States, even before the arrival of covid, there has been a lot of talk about freedom to make one’s own choices as if one’s choices did not affect other members of one’s family or community. Thus, one was free to use nicotine products, drink excessively, use other drugs addictively, eat unhealthy food, make parental decisions for one’s child, to have and use a vastly unequal share of resources, to preach hate, or otherwise engage in behavior regardless of how it affected others. The thinking seem to be that we all had “free will” and equal opportunities. Of course, many of us knew that “free will” is not nearly as “free” as we would like to believe; that many factors including systemic, and historic racism, sexism, homophobia, and a host of other factors affect what choices we can and do make. Many of us knew many factors affect what opportunities are available to each of us.
Clearly, we all have the freedom to not get covid vaccines, but that freedom affects the freedom of others to safely move about in the world. Clearly, one has the freedom to not wear a mask, but the exercise of that freedom also potentially affects the health of others. Clearly, we have the freedom to spread the virus but that affects the freedom and potentially the life of others. We have the freedom to be fearful but to allow that fear to make our decisions means that others are not as free.
Perhaps we always need to ask how the exercise of our freedom affects the freedom of others. If, for example, one exercises one freedom to eat unhealthy food which eventually has adverse side effects, should the larger community have the freedom or refuse one medical service, housing, or other basic needs? Does any of us know anyone who completely refrains from unhealthy behavior? Do we truly hold all people equally accountable for all their behavior? Do we distribute resources equally? Do we equally value the job of the attorney, doctor, administrator, janitor, ambulance driver, farmer? Is high quality health care, decent housing, utilities, education and even access to information via the internet equally available to all who perform, valuable services. Does the freedom to declare that we know the one true God affect others adversely? Does this create an us-them decision which ultimately affect how we, as a community, distribute resources including our affection and respect for each other.
if we are going to talk about freedom, let’s do so with the acknowledgment that every exercise of freedom to make a choice has potentially positive and negative consequences for others. Let’s admit that discussion of freedom from needs to consider how the exercise of that freedom affects the freedom to for others.
Written August 6, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
Throughout the world, or at least planet earth, the visit of covid, including its variants, has sparked, or at least intensified passionate debates about individual freedom versus the rights of the larger community. Whether to have mask mandates, vaccinations requirements, and/or other restrictions to prevent or at least greatly slow down the deaths rate from this pandemic are the subjects of ongoing, often heated debates, among medical professionals, politicians, business enterprises, economists, and individual citizens. Inconclusive information, patently false information, educated guesses as well as the views of those whose vision is limited to their immediate needs and very real fears affect how one relates to covid. Even information and recommendations from the United States Centers for Disease Control has frequently changed as personnel there weigh such factors as what would be medically optimal against what might be enforceable and what new information is not yet known.
The pandemic arrived on planet Earth at a time when there was acute trust issues between and among citizens, between and among political groups and between and among medical professionals. Additionally, it arrived at a historic period which boasted public media platforms from various television news stations, Facebook Twitter, You Tube and a host of others. Never in the history of this planet has there been so many ways to disseminate accurate and inaccurate information based on educated scientific guesses as well private and public agendas, fears, and widespread distrust.
It is, thus, not surprising that it has been often impossible to arrive at a single and consistent community plan to move through and past this pandemic.
There is a lot of talk about freedom. Sadly, talk about freedom is often limited to freedom from or freedom to, but seldom is inclusive of both aspects of freedom. In my memory I was first challenged to think of freedom to as well as freedom from in political philosophy class. I had previously been invited to think of freedom in terms of individual freedom to choose a career, to serve my country as a member of the Armed Forces, to choose my religion and to make other individual choices. There was little talk about how individual exercise of freedom might impact the freedom of others.
In recent years in the United States, even before the arrival of covid, there has been a lot of talk about freedom to make one’s own choices as if one’s choices did not affect other members of one’s family or community. Thus, one was free to use nicotine products, drink excessively, use other drugs addictively, eat unhealthy food, make parental decisions for one’s child, to have and use a vastly unequal share of resources, to preach hate, or otherwise engage in behavior regardless of how it affected others. The thinking seem to be that we all had “free will” and equal opportunities. Of course, many of us knew that “free will” is not nearly as “free” as we would like to believe; that many factors including systemic, and historic racism, sexism, homophobia, and a host of other factors affect what choices we can and do make. Many of us knew many factors affect what opportunities are available to each of us.
Clearly, we all have the freedom to not get covid vaccines, but that freedom affects the freedom of others to safely move about in the world. Clearly, one has the freedom to not wear a mask, but the exercise of that freedom also potentially affects the health of others. Clearly, we have the freedom to spread the virus but that affects the freedom and potentially the life of others. We have the freedom to be fearful but to allow that fear to make our decisions means that others are not as free.
Perhaps we always need to ask how the exercise of our freedom affects the freedom of others. If, for example, one exercises one freedom to eat unhealthy food which eventually has adverse side effects, should the larger community have the freedom or refuse one medical service, housing, or other basic needs? Does any of us know anyone who completely refrains from unhealthy behavior? Do we truly hold all people equally accountable for all their behavior? Do we distribute resources equally? Do we equally value the job of the attorney, doctor, administrator, janitor, ambulance driver, farmer? Is high quality health care, decent housing, utilities, education and even access to information via the internet equally available to all who perform, valuable services. Does the freedom to declare that we know the one true God affect others adversely? Does this create an us-them decision which ultimately affect how we, as a community, distribute resources including our affection and respect for each other.
if we are going to talk about freedom, let’s do so with the acknowledgment that every exercise of freedom to make a choice has potentially positive and negative consequences for others. Let’s admit that discussion of freedom from needs to consider how the exercise of that freedom affects the freedom to for others.
Written August 6, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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