Is It "Just Me," or Are We STILL in a 3T?

[David Horn]

(02-14-2022, 09:06 PM)JasonBlack Wrote:

(02-14-2022, 10:53 AM)David Horn Wrote: Vaccine Passports have happened outside the US, but only a very few states have attempted anything similar.  I personally favor that approach, but its water under the bridge at this point.  Forcing behavior on the unwilling is part of what government does.  Sorry, you can't just rob this store -- you're getting arrested.  Vaccinating your children before they attend school is another example, and one followed everywhere for a long time.  These are fully rational responses to irrational provocations.  The blind freedom to do as one pleases only works when those freedoms are self-regulated.  We're way past that now.

Comparing mandates not to rob people to mandates to close down your business because of lockdowns is an absurd false equivalence. Personally I'm not concerned about most of the mask stuff (you just...put on a mask and do what you were doing anyway), but the forced closure of business (except corporations....) and frequent use of surveillance by governments across the world....no. The Constitution does not have exception clauses for crises, and this is for good reason, because those are precisely the times it's needed most (for example, the Bill of Rights in particular was created largely to protect unpopular people, such as those with controversial views, potential criminals, people who challenge government actions, etc).

Starting with your first point:

• Mandates that require people to not infect others (assault and battery if done by other means) is fully rational and should be a function of government like policing in general.
  
• Forced closures are drastic, I agree, but necessary when no other viable alternatives exist.  Pre-vaccine, it was the only option.  Now, it should be unnecessary, but some people seem to be offended by doing what they every school child is obliged to do to attend school.
  
• Is the Constitution a suicide pact?  Several notable Supreme Court Justices have cited that thought in their opinions.  No.  Any agreement that mandates suicide as a policy is insane, and not enforceable.
  
• Citing the support of unpopular views as somehow similar to suicidal actions is simply not true.  Presidents can institute martial law, for example, but not to oppose some idiot standing on a street corner spouting nonsense.  The again, start a riot, especially one that exceeds the capability of the police to manage, and see how far that goes.