I’ve been remiss in keeping this blog alive, and I can’t promise I’ll do any better, which hurts me a whole lot than it does anyone else, and I know I tend to be focused too much on politics, but, well, there’s a lot to focus on. I admit to left bias, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, but sometimes I’m willing to listen to reason from a reasonable person. Musa al-Gharbi, from the Guardian wrote most of this, in his own words, many of which I’ve blatantly stolen and wanted to share, along with my own observations. I’d appreciate any comments you want to make.

I’m rethinking my hard stance on vaccinated vs. unvaccinated. Unvaccinated people can give it, if they catch it, to other unvaccinated people, mostly. Sure, they can give it to the vaccinated people, but are not as likely to, and it’s not as likely to kill them if they do. Besides, if you’re unvaccinated and you catch it, you’re more likely to get sick and go to bed. I’m still unhappy about you going to the hospital, because the chances are if you’d gotten vaccinated, you wouldn’t have had to burden the already over-burdened medical staff. But I don’t want you to die, either. And I still hate your argument that you won’t do it because the government told you to and you live in a free country, blah blah, blah, because you don’t. You obey rules and regulations every damn day because the government has put them into place to protect people around you. You wear seatbelts, go the speed limit, don’t smoke in public places, take a driver test and pay for a license and obey a whole slew of rules, and you know it, in addition to all the vaccinations you had to get and had to make your children get, so stop using that one.

But, here’s why I’m less rabid about the whole “Get your damn shot” thing:

1. You’re right, the Covid-19 vaccines were developed, approved, mass produced and distributed at record speed, so if you have concerns about proper protocols, I get it.
2. The current administration originally expressed grave concern about the “Trump vaccines,” but backed way off from that stance to the point of calling your hesitancy “irrational and immoral.” That’s politicizing medical care—not cool.
3. Pre-Omicron, the vaccines were portrayed as providing more than 90% effectiveness. That didn’t hold up to the light of day, which is why we ended up with boosters.
4. Dr. Fauci even acknowledged that he has engaged in “noble lies” with respect to herd immunity vaccination targets to push more people to get vaccinated.
5. In the wake of Omicron, even people who have been boosted are experiencing breakthrough infections, so rather than being sold as a means of preventing infection altogether, we’re now to believe that the main benefit is more to reduce severe infection.
6. Once we were told we were fully vaccinated with two shots, now it’s three. What’s next?
7. Vaccine manufacturers are becoming billionaires. Pharmaceutical companies have a clear stake in advising multiple rounds mandated for as many people as possible at as high a price as possible, and they are exploiting that advice.
8. The FDA approved J&J vaccine as safe and effective, then advised against it.
9. Nearly 12,000 Americans have died shortly after receiving Covid vaccines, possibly as a result of side effects or allergic reactions, and while these casualties represent a tiny share of all doses, and are radically offset by the number of lives saved, still, 12,000 lives ain’t nothin’.
10. People who are harmed by vaccines are generally not eligible to seek financial recompense. Trump evoked federal powers to completely shield pharma companies from being sued.
11. Over the course of the pandemic, legislators and other gov’t. officials have invested heavily in the stock of vaccine manufacturers and reaped the benefits. Pharma companies have reciprocally poured millions into the campaign coffers of sympathetic congress members. Biden endorsed a Covid vaccine patent waiver, but the administration has not followed through with any concrete action. Democrats have abandoned proposed legislation the would have allowed the federal government to negotiate down the price of drugs.

Any of these factors alone could reasonably contribute to the mistrust, yes?

Also, let’s consider that aggressive policies justified on the basis of dire projections of death have cost a lot—from lost years of learning in schools, to financial losses for individuals and businesses, increased social isolation, mental health strain and substance abuse, to increases in antisocial behaviors. The highest payors of these costs are people who were already disadvantaged and vulnerable—and already inclined to be skeptical of authority. We haven’t won any hearts and minds by deriding them as selfish and ignorant.

Finally, overall, the CDC estimates that roughly three-fourths of US adults are fully vaccinated and 87% have received at least one dose. Outright refusal is relatively rare, even though many seem to have taken one dose and decided not to pursue a second dose or boosters. Many hesitant folks are not resolutely anti-vaccine, nor do they believe the eccentric theories out there. The reality is that hesitant people across the country are stepping forward voluntarily to be vaccinated in ever larger numbers. Many of them are more opposed to the vaccine mandates and passports to Covid-19 related lockdowns, closures, and masking requirements—as well as coercive and sometimes dubiously effective state policies–than they are to the shots. Whether we agree or disagree with these campaigns, it’s misleading and unhelpful to conflate these dissenters with anti-vaxxers as has been done. All that said, and despite all the problems, the Covid-19 campaign has actually been one of the most ambitious and successful rapid vaccination drives in US history. Pockets of skepticism remain, which is unfortunate, possibly even tragic; however, bear in mind that many have legitimate reasons to be apprehensive. We need to stop shaming them.

I decided to check out the definitions of conservative, as well as liberal, because I have a couple of Republican/conservative friends who viewed Trump with abhorrence, and granted even though they haven’t re-defined themselves a liberal by any means, they sure don’t believe he represents conservative values at all. Those people I think of (naturally) as having used their powers of observation and their ability to reason to come to that opinion. Trump, it seems is where the rubber meets the road—not conservativism.  Google defines conservative as “averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values”. However, “traditional values” is a little vague to me, so once again Google seems to be clear enough: values especially of a traditional or conservative kind which are held to promote the sound functioning of the family and to strengthen the fabric of society.” Or: “values held to be traditionally taught or reinforced within a family, such as those of high moral standards and discipline.” God, then what are “high moral standards?” Maybe this doesn’t cover everything, but I would have to include honesty: being truthful and sincere; integrity: sticking to your moral and ethical principles and values; and kindness: being considerate and treating others well. And, I bet believing in God and going to church are requirements for being conservative, don’t you think? But that is truly sticky, because I have plenty of liberal friends who believe in God and go to church—just not Evangelical churches, and very few are Catholics. Digging out how “Christians” ended up believing in Trump as the savior of the American Way is something I’m still confused about.

I’m forced to agree that it is indeed ironic that one definition of liberal is “willing to respect behavior or opinions different from one’s own,” when I and most of my liberal friends are unwilling to accept Trump’s behavior and his opinions. Webster takes a broader view of liberal that includes generous and openhanded, broad-minded, not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or traditional forms. Ahh, the word traditional pops up again, which I suppose is part of the schism. We liberals apparently don’t care about tradition so much. We (or at least I) think change is inevitable and would rather accept that and work to adjust to it, maybe even enjoy the exciting lessons we can learn from change than to fight it and wish it would go away so that things could go back to ‘the way they were in the good old days’, which by the way weren’t good at all for some, but perhaps very good for pale faces with jobs and homes—people like me, as a matter of fact. Liberalism, I think, is a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, the autonomy of the individual, and free enterprise, but with government playing a crucial role in addressing social inequities (race, gender and class). Me, to a tee.

But I don’t want to be as strident as I am. When and if I post on social media, I want to speak in a respectful way—as if my opponent was in front of me. Because, it’s true, I have to accept that my desire to make people see ‘the error of their ways’ is as strong in them as it is in me. They believe I’m wrong and they are right, just as I do, even though we are at polar opposite positions. We see the world through a different paradigm, and yet we are equally convinced in the veracity of our opinions. I want to believe that most of Trump’s followers are not bad people who want to do harm. In fact, I believe they see the country as ailing and needing help, which they believe he can give it. I just don’t see why or how. I’m lost as to how to open that dialogue and honestly not even sure I should. Maybe I don’t need to understand. Maybe we just need to leave each other be. Maybe I need to be a true liberal and stop trying to address every form of difference and accept people the way they are. No single human or group of humans merits my attention as much as saving our planet. That is so much more dire than reconciling our differences. When we’re all living on a melting planet that is on fire or flooding and trying to cast off the offenders,, rightfully so, shouldn’t that take priority? We’ll see.