The Republican Party is the party of freedom. People should be free to make their own choices with their lives. Law-abiding citizens should be able to own guns. Business owners should be able to run their businesses as they decide. Of course, this freedom principle has two corollaries: First, my freedom is not the right to infringe your freedom. Second, choices have consequences. I am free to smoke cigarettes, but not to poison you with them. I can overeat or gamble, but can’t blame you if I get fat or broke.
Covid is dangerous, even deadly. Worst of all, it can be spread unknowingly. Getting vaccinated is patriotic and an exercise in good citizenship, and makes it easier for all Americans to enjoy the lives we want. Since no vaccine is 100% effective, vaccinated people should have the freedom to enjoy the benefits of vaccinations—such as eating, drinking and attending functions, indoors and outdoors, without masks or social distancing—without being potentially harmed by those who exercise their freedom to be unvaccinated.
And yet there are some--even my fellow Republicans—who believe they should be free to not get a Covid-19 vaccination, and still do the same things as the vaccinated. I respectfully urge them to reconsider.
- David Rosenthal, Central Committee Member, AD15