Thinking communally
The desire of the Surgeon General in Florida to eliminate vaccine mandates is phenomenally disturbing.
Individual rights, he says. What about communal well-being? We struggle in this country because we don't think communally. Frankly, the community often ends up paying for our preoccupation with individuality. Motorcyclists who don't wear helmets and who end up in accidents often are a drain on insurance and governmental resources. Families who don't vaccinate their kids bring once-eliminated diseases and the costs associated with them to the community. Our willingness to allow massively destructive guns in our culture has brought terror and deep pain to our schools, cities, and many families. I appreciate the American tradition of individual rights, but our preoccupation with them has served to damage too much of our common life.