Protection or Control? That is the question...

Well, here we are. I didn't think we could ever top the hot mess that was 2020. Alas, I have been proven wrong.

At this point, I almost wish I could go back to 2020. Ignorance is indeed bliss. Yet here I am, staring down a heartbreaking decision: stand for my right to choose what I put in my body and lose my job, or ignore my concerns and get the vaccine in order to keep my job and continue to provide for my family. Regardless of whether you think that's overdramatizing the situation or not, that is the decision that millions of Americans are having to make over the next two months. 

The line between protecting ourselves and protecting others has been permanently darkened. Our politicians and the media have done an excellent job at creating this narrative that if you choose yourself, you hate everyone else. You are essentially a killer walking around looking for someone to infect next. 

So here's my internal struggle - inevitably, this mandate to "protect the vaccinated against the unvaccinated" will turn into mandates for other things. Mark my words. This is a slippery slope we're on. Worst case scenario? The government, who are already tracking the unvaccinated, will round all of them up and do one of two things: (1) throw them all in jail and forcibly vaccinate them all one by one, along with imposing a fine or (2) create isolation areas so they won't be able to "spread infections" and "create more variants" that will surely extend this global pandemic until the end of time. They'll be able to do this easily because of the fear they've created of the "unvaccinated". Then, they'll tell the vaccinated people who have complied with their demands up to this point that in order to continue to keep them "safe", they'll need to do x, y and z. Maybe hand over your guns, because you know, the government protects you now. Even worse beyond that, maybe they decide down the road that, hey, we have too many people in America to "protect" so they'll tell everyone that they will only "allow" you to have one baby. Anyone who tries to have more will be punished and subsequent babies will be killed. You think I'm getting too crazy? Look at China back in the 1980s....I'll wait.

Lord willing, it doesn't get that crazy. But here's the other side of my internal struggle - as a Christian, my confidence is not in man. It is in God. So do I just "live peaceably with others as much as is possible" and get the vaccine to ease the concern of others around me, even though me getting the vaccine should have no effect on them if they are vaccinated? Should I trust God and ignore my concerns about this "vaccine" and risk the rare but possible deadly side effects of a very new and limited data medicine for the sake of being able to support my family financially? I keep going back to the passages of Paul talking to the Corinthians about not eating meat in front of others who have a problem with it. It's a heart issue. The difference here is that the people who had a problem with eating meat weren't forcing the Corinthians to stop eating meat altogether, anywhere. These brethren no doubt understood and respected the fact that the Corinthians didn't have an issue with eating meat, but Paul was urging the Corinthians to be kind and considerate enough not to do it in front of these other brethren. The hearts had to be selfless on both sides. I have no problem with wearing a mask and social distancing if someone really wants me to because of their concern. What I do have an issue with is someone forcing me to do something I'm not comfortable with all under the claim of "the good of others". 

Is it a sign of distrust in God if I don't get the vaccine? Is it a sign of faith in God if I do get it and I just comply with whatever the government wants me to do?

Either way, I will say this - I wasn't born yesterday. These mandates don't have anything to do with real protection. They have everything to do with control and how far we're willing to let the government make decisions for us before we push back. Remember, politicians tend to think that the average American is too dumb to know what's good for us. They'll just take care of that for us ;) 

I do care about others and their safety, but not being vaccinated has nothing to do with my concern for others. There are so many people who are unvaccinated for other diseases that have all but been eradicated for decades, but I don't fear those people because that's their choice. I may not understand it but I don't guilt them into doing something that they don't want to by saying that they hate mankind because they want to kill us. THAT is a heart issue.

And to wrap this rant up, I will clarify one thing. I was never NOT going to get the vaccine. My decision to get it was going to be based on longer-term data, data on how long natural immunity actually lasts, continued data on side effects of the vaccine, etc. You know, the normal data that vaccines provide since it typically takes 10-15 years for one to actually be approved. I wasn't going to wait that long, but a couple of years of data is certainly much better than six months. Even now, we continue to get more and more data every day that contradicts something that came out weeks or months ago, and we'll keep getting data every day until they can confidently say "this vaccine is saving every life we give it to" or "this vaccine is actually only about 40% effective, kind of like the flu vaccine" or even "well, we thought this vaccine was super effective but now we're seeing that it doesn't actually do anything except leave unknown long term effects that we'll just have to wait and hope aren't terminal for everyone". I get that that's science, but I really didn't want to become the rat in the lab for this one.

So I guess I'll continue to wallow in my inner turmoil until I finally decide what to do, which will probably be to throw caution to the wind and get the jab - because I need my job for the sake of my family. But I'll do it like a three year old throwing a tantrum after being told no....

God bless anyways!