It is about freedom

Little did I know when I was writing my 9/11 memories last week and I mentioned that it scared me that people were willing to give up freedoms in the name of safety that a few days later President Joe Biden would again enact safety as a way of taking away more freedoms.

In his address he stated, “This is not about freedom or personal choice. It’s about protecting yourself and those around you — the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love.”

You will see memes quoting him as saying “This is not about freedom but safety,” but the aforementioned is the exact quote.

But regardless, Mr. President, the fact is you are wrong, this is about freedom because in the simplest of terms, without ALL of the freedoms we enjoy here in the United States, we can never truly be safe.

If you think that that is not true just ask the Afghan women who lost their freedoms when the Taliban took over that country. (If you believe the Taliban, Mr. President, when they say women will enjoy the same freedoms I have some ocean front property here in Wyoming for you to purchase.)

I am not afraid of the vaccine. I had the freedom to choose and I chose to get vaccinated for a number of personal reasons. I was not mandated, my family did not ask, in fact I am one of the few vaccinated in my immediate and extended family.

It was my choice and it should be the choice of every citizen. Do I wish more would make the choice to be vaccinated? Sure, but will I make them or try to force them? No.

Let’s be clear, the President chose the avenue of going after businesses with 100 or more employees because he knew he did not have the authority to mandate that every citizen get vaccinated, just as he does not have the authority to mandate everyone wear masks.

And, to be honest, with the federal government encouraging and governors then mandating that hand-picked businesses close last year in the name of health and safety, it only gave the federal and local governments power to take this next step.

Many governors who shut down businesses last year are now saying this is government outreach going too far. They are right and our own governor and the State Legislature leadership are considering a special session to see if they can address the Biden Administration’s orders and protect our local businesses.

But, in all honesty, I believe the end-around that this Administration is doing is their way of trying to get everyone vaccinated. And that is plain wrong and I believe unconstitutional.

Mr. President, we understand your frustration with the number of hospitalizations and the number of deaths from COVID-19, but frustration is not a reason to forego freedoms this country was founded upon.

State legislatures are meeting, attorneys have been contacted to try and fight the orders so whether his orders end up standing or not we won’t know for a while, but local businesses are trying to deal with the impact already.

In the meantime, employees whether due to the Biden Administration mandate or individual businesses that have instituted their own mandates, will have tough choices to make in the coming days and weeks.

My hope is that American citizens will always have the freedom to choose a vaccine or not, the freedom to choose what is done to their own body.