While President Biden and Texas Gov. Abbott are taking very different approaches to vaccine mandates, they are in agreement on the fundamental issue. When it comes to vaccines, both believe that individuals should not be free to choose.
Biden wants to require anyone working at a company with more than 100 employees to be vaccinated. Abbott wants to prohibit businesses from requiring employees and customers to be vaccinated. Both want to prohibit individuals from making choices about vaccines.
Some individuals may only want to be around those who have been vaccinated. Others may not care. And some simply refuse to get vaccinated. Each should be free to choose. And each should be held accountable for their choices.
For example, if an individual will only visit businesses that require a vaccine passport, he may find his options limited. If an individual refuses to get vaccinated, he may find himself barred from certain businesses and jobs. In either case, individuals are free to choose. Government issued mandates and prohibitions prevent individuals from acting on their choices.
Preventing individuals from acting on their own choices has been government’s modus operandi since the beginning of the pandemic. The lock downs prevented businesses from finding innovative ways to protect employees and customers. The lock downs prevented individuals from patronizing businesses that they believed were taking adequate precautions. The lock downs prevented everyone from judging the situation and then acting as they thought best for their lives.
Though Biden and Abbott might appear to stand on opposite sides on the issue of vaccine mandates, they are actually in agreement. They believe that government should dictate policies and individuals should not be free to choose.
Nearly two years of mandates and prohibitions have not stopped the spread of COVID. But millions of lives and businesses have been destroyed.