OT: Smallpox Vaccine

[Guest guest]

Hey Michelle,

 

Not sure who you're addressing this too .. likely everybody .. so I'll

comment from a slightly right leaning position.

 

> What do you all think of this mandatory smallpox vaccine clause in the

> homeland security bill? Michelle

 

I didn't know such a clause was being discussed. I doubt that anyone in

the US Government would think a nation-wide immunization requirement

could be enforced. But if they think its justified and can support that

with more than knee-jerk rationale, I would support it. If there is

credible intelligence information that leads American elected officials

... Democrats and Republicans .. to believe that the safety of the nation

and continuance of the American way of life depends on the protection of

citizens against planned biological attack, then I would support FORCED

vaccination .. just as I now support FORCED Blood Alcohol Tests in some

states if arresting officers believe a driver is drunk. I have forced

such tests during my law enforcement days and it never bothered me.

 

I have no knowledge of justification of a nation-wide requirement for

vaccination now, and without valid justifcation it would be a violation

of the " rights and freedoms " we Americans have become accustomed to. If

after hearing justification, and getting the facts, I still disagreed ..

I'd actively campaign against those who pushed it through.

 

But somehow .. I can't believe such a thing will happen .. unless it is

STRONGLY justified .. it must get through too many smart folks on both

sides of the isle. I've not seen this " security bill. " But I do have

confidence in the Congress as a body .. it matters not their political

affiliation. If such a clause became law and was not justified by the

Congress AND supported by the people .. I would be among those who

disobeyed the requirement.

 

I am NOT against smallpox vaccinations. I have worked in Third World

areas where smallpox epidemics occured and I have seen the results. Due

to smallpox vaccination America is virtually free of a disease that once

incapacitated more soldiers than did the enemy forces. Entire American

cultures were made extinct due to this disease.

 

I understand though I might not agree with the objections of Chris and

some others to smallpox immunizations .. and I don't understand why all

of a sudden they are worse than they were before. If it is true that

the vaccine is now more dangerous than the disease, that's because the

disease is almost unheard of in America .. BECAUSE of the vaccine.

 

Still .. I am for LESS government .. not MORE. I believe that mandatory

automobile insurance is good because it protects us from becoming a

victim of someone else's personal choice .. but I believe mandatory use

of helmuts for motorcyclists is a violation of their rights. I believe

the whole is more important than the part .. safety and security of our

nation is more important than individual liberties .. Americans are the

ONLY people in the world who have not experienced the curtailing of

certain individual liberties for the protection of the larger group.

Europeans long ago became accustomed to this. Even today, when I pass

through airports in the USA I hear peeing and moaning from Americans

about the security measures .. but ONLY from the Americans.

 

In one respect, this is good .. Americans are rebellious by nature. We

are products of revolution. Today, we would not tolerate some of the

things the Europeans are faced with .. like the law that is certain to

go down in England prohibiting the hunting of wild animals ... or laws

in many countries that prohibit citizens from owning firearms. But we

will change .. we must count on a tightening of our freedoms in the

future because we are now faced with a different kind of threat .. we

cannot defeat terrorism with a totally open society or one that places

rights of the individual above those of the society. Compared to many

places I've lived, America has long been a safe haven for criminals due

to the " rights of the criminal " over the rights of the victims ... and

terrorists have far less to fear in America than they do in many other

countries. In the past, we watched them .. didn't make a move until

after they had done their thing .. stupid this was and it was based on a

liberal interpretation of " rights. " The thinking was like .. better to

let ten bad boys run loose rather than accidently police up one good boy

who was innocent. The good old days are gone .. in the future, we will

see more attention given to protection of the whole over the " rights " of

the individual. As tough as this might be to digest, count on it and be

ready for it. America has been lucky .. but our luck has run out now.

 

There is a need for government and to watch closely to ensure we don't

have too much government without cause. Many decisions of governments

are based on emotions .. some are made so the representative can be

reelected. But generally there's a balancing effect and the threat

should always guide the protective measures put in place. I have no

problem with prohibiting people from keeping Pit Bulls in residential

areas but I would disagree with a law that prohibited the breeding of

them. I have no problem with Americans being required to register hand

guns .. but I would object to a law prohibiting them from owning one.

 

IF I was aware of a planned biological threat to the USA, I would have

no objections to FORCED immunization and would, if necessary, help to

hold folks down while they were being immunized. We cannot allow the

rights of some indivuals to supercede the rights of the whole .. and if

you think of it, this is no different than prohibiting a person from

keeping a Pit Bull in a residential area.

 

If I get more information and give more thought to the smallpox issue ..

I might decide to categorize it with the mandatory automobile insurance.

And I might fit it into the helmut category.

 

Y'all keep smiling, Butch