By Don Urquhart, Times-Chronicle
A couple of weeks ago I wrote an editorial that rubbed a handful of people the wrong way. In it, I urged policymakers to root through their ‘social tool boxes’ to find measures to reward the socially responsible, vaccinated majority and throw up hurdles for the socially irresponsible. Clearly, I’m on the right side of history on that one.
I also suggested to not get vaccinated was utter stupidity, thinking at the time that this was as low as the anti-vaxers could sink. Boy was I wrong.
As we’ve all seen in the last week or so, stupidity has been taken to a whole new revolting level. I won’t argue people’s right to protest, but holding disruptive and life-threatening rallies targeting health care workers and hospitals is a whole other nasty grab bag of stupidity. And it is the ultimate selfishness.
Does this merry band of science illiterates understand that hospitals and health care workers keep people alive – whether it be a coronary, cancer or COVID? Are they able to comprehend that these healthcare professionals are not the policy-makers, that their jobs are inherently apolitical and wholly vested in caring for humanity, even the loutish protesters themselves? It seems not.
Disrespecting, and even intimidating health care workers is simply unacceptable anywhere, not least of all here in Canada. Doctors, nurses and paramedics speak of fearing for their personal safety and that of their families. This is so very wrong it shouldn’t have to even be said.
And holding these protests under the guise of ‘health workers defending their rights’ is more than just rubbish, it’s pure subterfuge. These protesters have even stooped so low as to steal the language of women’s reproductive rights. ‘My body, my choice,’ and ‘Pro-choice’ have been repeatedly and atrociously pillaged from a just and powerful cause.
But lacking moral authority, these words in the mouths of the protesters fall tragically short just as the cries of ‘personal freedom’ and ‘democracy’ dribble to nothing.
Our rights and freedoms are important, no argument on that. But these rights are not sacrosanct nor are they boundless. When perceived freedoms inflict harm on others and society as a whole, they cease to hold moral authority, just as drunk driver’s rights diminish through irresponsibility.
We have the wide-ranging rights and freedoms that we do in Canada because we are at once a liberal democracy and a social democracy. We have the right to freely debate, protest and demonstrate but this does not give us the right to abuse or endanger lives or promote hate.
As part of this unique Canadian social compact, we thrive by frequently elevating the good of the group over the whims of the individual. The anti-vaxers have torn that notion asunder and in so doing have turned many Canadians – who otherwise would likely have just ignored the anti-vax rant – into staunch critics of these protesters and the absurdities they spout.
