There is no constitutional right to stupidity!

Though when you consider just how prescient the movie ‘Idiocracy’ turned out to be, you’d think courting ignorance actually was prominently listed in those Top Ten Rights. And there’s no better evidence of this possibility than those mentally challenged folks who, despite the vast evidence of its efficacy, refuse to get vaccinated against the plague.

The German chocolate frosting on that vastly ironic cake is those nitwits so willing to court death vaingloriously wrap themselves in the flag while fervently believing they stand for truth, justice, and the American way. Talk about delusions of grandeur!

First and foremost, despite some Republican legislator’s mendacious declarations to the contrary, there is no Constitutional right to ignore any vaccine mandate issued by the government or your employer. Though ain’t it incredibly ironic (there’s that word again!) that so many rabid anti-abortion conservatives are suddenly spouting shit like “You can’t tell me what to do with my body!”

Furthermore, within the bounds of reason, both the federal and state governments have the right to suspend Constitutionally protected conduct during times of crisis whether it’s a meteorological disaster, an earthquake, a war, or a pandemic. In fact, those protective interventions are the very reason we chose to come together to be governed with the implicit understanding that we’d have trade some individual rights for stability.

All that, of course, begs the question, why are so many misguided folks suddenly drawing a line in the sand on a well-tested and eminently beneficial vaccine? We consent to be searched at airports. We willingly walk through metal detectors to enter a government building. We choose to work for employers who require drug testing, and we generally abide by our often absurdly restrictive homeowners association rules.

But a vaccine that not only protects the recipient but their fellowman is the last straw? Really? For the life of me, I just can’t comprehend that level of self-absorption, self-important thinking, and downright stupidity.

And the courts certainly don’t support that kind circular logic, either. When a Massachusetts man refused to be inoculated against smallpox in 1905 the Supreme Court ruled:

Real liberty for all could not exist under the operation of a principle which recognizes the right of each individual person to use his own (liberty), whether in respect of his person or his property, regardless of the injury that may be done to others.

Put more simply, the Constitution isn’t a suicide pact that grants you the right to harm others. No one has the right to infect others, to waste medical resources, or to play host to a new COVID variant that won’t respond to the current vaccines.

Worse yet, I can’t begin to fathom those individuals who not only refuse to be vaccinated, but then they further object to to the weekly testing option. As Kane County Judge Robert Villa ruled in the case of the four teachers/support staff who sued the Geneva and St. Charles School Districts over the Governor’s vaccine mandate, what irreparable harm could taking a COVID test possibly entail?

After one teacher essentially quit rather than be tested, she posted this drivel on social media:

After 22 years of service in public education and risking my health last year to provide in-person learning for students, I was excluded from work today. I am not being paid starting today because I am not consenting to the tyranny in Illinois. I am being discriminated against for my religious and medical beliefs. I stand for the Constitution. Agree with me or not, it’s my choice.

So now we’re conflating stupidity with nobility? Lord! Give me strength. Have I noted that there’s absolutely no Constitutional prohibition against a vaccine mandate? And she wouldn’t be “risking her life” IF SHE GOT FREAKIN’ VACCINATED!

All of this from a teacher, no less!

Now, if these absurd anti-vaxxers would sign off on any potential consequences for their silly brand of self-inflicted stupidity, that would be another thing entirely. Those concessions would include:

• Not being able to work at certain jobs
• Not attending indoor events
• Avoiding bars and restaurants
• Refusing to seek medical assistance if they contract the disease
• Refusing admittance to any hospital if they contract a severe form of the disease
• Accepting higher insurance rates

But no! Like most red-blooded Americans, they want to be able to make their ill-advised stand without having to suffer any of the repercussions from that choice.

One of my favorite youthful Chicago bands, Heavy Manners, wrote a song with the lyric “happiness depends on complicated decency from a lot of people you’ll never know.” They couldn’t be more dead on. To wit, we urban folk don’t blast our stereos at 2 a.m. We won’t run red lights. We bathe or shower with reasonable frequency, we mow our lawns, we don’t randomly shout in restaurants and theaters, and we’re generally respectful of other people’s space.

More to the point, I’m always amazed at how we somehow manage to set these hyper-partisan times aside and come together to help each other after a serious winter storm. When you consider how that cooperative effort takes so much more effort than getting a simple flippin’ shot, it’s more than ironic, too.

So, why is it that we can’t apply that same simple working together for the common good dynamic towards wiping out a disease that’s already exacted a 5 million global death toll? Even if you’re hesitant to get vaccinated, why not take one for the team? Because if we can’t come together on a proven method for ending a potentially lethal pandemic, then what hope is there for us as a species?

When Homo Sapiens gave up their hunter-gatherer ways to congregate in the safety and stability of cities, we did so with the clear understanding it meant making certain concessions, not the least of which is sublimating our individuality for the greater good. With rare exception, we’ve never looked back. So, quit bitchin’ and get the damn shot! There was certainly something to it when Ms. Joplin sang, “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”

Now, if only there was only a vaccine to eliminate stupidity…