The one with the unpopular opinion

I know this won’t be a popular opinion in some circles, but here it is on the covid shot. Get it or don’t, your choice. People who are or have gotten it aren’t mindless sheep bent on submitting to the will of the government because they just love tyranny. They are making the best choice for themselves based on their lives and what may be happening in it. People who choose not to or can’t get it are not selfish, science deniers who care nothing about others because they won’t be told what to do by ‘the man.’ They too are making the best decision for themselves based on their lives and what might be happening in it. Maybe you think either one of those people is wrong. Oh well. Not your life, not your choice. None of us have any idea what someone else may be going through in life that may influence their decision. We can speculate about motives and project our opinion onto those who walk a different path, but it won’t change the fact that they are free to walk that path and to do so with or without anyone else’s approval. If you’ve gotten the shot, great! That doesn’t make you a mindless sheep. If you haven’t gotten it, I assume you know better for yourself than I do for you and it’s not my damn business. That doesn’t make you an uneducated moron. We will always and forever be making different decisions from one another, and if that comes with a cost then I guess we just have to count that bill as the expense of a free society.

The point of this rantish post is simply this: the way to get others to see your point or your side isn’t through shaming them, yelling at them, calling them sheep, calling them selfish, or pretty much most of what I see on the news or social media and from both sides of the proverbial aisle. If you believe in the righteousness of your decisions then lead by example with kindness, compassion, and an open-mind. Or, just mind your own business. The mantra for a while was “we are all in this together.” But the reality is, we aren’t and the reason for that is because there are too many forces using what’s happening to bludgeon us into our little camps of for or against, just like always inevitably happens when the powers that be weaponize a tragedy for political gain. They win, we lose. Every. Single. Time. They aren’t the ones who have to continue to break bread with neighbors, or coworkers, or family members with different views. What do they care if they help rip those ties that bind us together if it means one more tally in their column? Sorry, I am not willing to play. 

And I know in many circles this is a truly unpopular opinion. But it’s the only one to have if you ever want to heal the country when this is all over. Otherwise, this may just be the thing that finally breaks us.