Have we lost our minds as a society? What happened to looking out for your fellow neighbour? Why does everything have to be polarized these days along the political spectrum. The pandemic brought on decisions and choices around mask wearing and then vaccines. These two subjects are not “subjective” to be debated. The science is clear and that’s where it should stay, within science. It should never have become political. But like everything else, it has been divided between “those who are with us, and those who are against us” mentality.
Case in point, we look to the education systems in the United States. Over the past few months, we have seen schools initially debating the necessity of masks for children in school to then deciding to mandate their usage. Seems like any sort of ordinary protocol, right? The doctors and scientists came to an understanding based on facts and research and implemented a public health strategy to protect children from the worse threat of covid-19. However, this mandate was quickly met with complete disobedience and persecution by far-right conservative parents simply because they do not believe the science. The point they miss, though, is that science does not care if you believe in it or not. It just is. Science is present whether we understand it or not. Us believing in it to be false does not change the fact that it still exists.
The issue is that these parents do not care what it factual or not, they only care about their perspective and forcing it on everyone else. I have seen videos of grown adults confronting and harassing little children and their parents walking home from school in California. These abusers are so corrupt in their views that they will berate a child and their parent just because they feel they are right. Little children! So, I ask the question again, have we lost our minds as a society?
Being part of a society means certain expectations and responsibilities for each citizen. This includes things like wearing a seatbelt while driving, needing a license to drive a car, or wearing clothing in public and not being naked. We have lived in society with these general rules, and we accept them. But when a public health authority tells us to wear a piece of clothing over our face or take a life-saving vaccine, suddenly, it is a violation of theirs and their children’s rights? Give me a break.
Our children deserve better than this. What kind of society are we leading them into where we do not care for one another’s health? This is a nation of selfishness and personal agendas based on political standing. The further we continue down this increasingly divergent path, the harder it will become to return to a collaborative society. We must be better. We owe it to our children.