If we had to start over on eradicating Smallpox today, we would be completely screwed. The only reason vaccine mandates are necessary is because people are apparently considerably more stupid than they were 70 years ago.
I'm not really sure how that is relevant. Both diseases are transmissible and deadly enough to completely overwhelm our hospitals for months at a time. Covid isn't just a random cold or flu. It is destroying our healthcare system, and the only way it will stop is with herd immunity.
We are closing in on 780,000 total deaths from Covid in the US. More than a quarter of those were working age adults two years ago.
A vaccine mandate has about 80% support in Germany. OP is axe-grinding for a pretty small minority here.
I don’t know if people are generally any more stupid now. I think it’s just that our media elevates these uninformed voices and amplifies these stupid points of view, treating both sides as possibly right, when one is so obviously wrong.
I used to believe this, until one of our political parties officially adopted the position that the 2020 election was stolen from them, and states like Florida and Alaska put vaccine and mask skeptics in charge of their health programs.
The people who believe this nonsense still aren't a majority, but they are now a large enough constituency to affect actual public policy. They are enabled by another large group who choose to ignore the insanity because it is politically convenient for them. I find all of this beyond terrifying. I stand by my statement: Smallpox could never be eradicated in 2021.
> I used to believe this, until one of our political parties officially adopted the position that the 2020 election was stolen from them
That's not new, though, really; it's new for the US, but it's a pretty common thing in the developing world (and was somewhat common in Europe pre-WW2).
The right sort of leader could absolutely have caused a similar reaction in the US 70 years ago, and the US _did_ have another weird political moment around that time; the McCarthyist panic. If McCarthy had been a weird narcissistic president rather than a paranoid, and then lost re-election, what do you think would have happened?
> It was either forcefully vaccinated or forcefully infected by the unvaccinated. I’m thankful we’re making the right choice.
False dichotomy.
Also what if you are wrong? You seem very certain. Why? No meaningful discussion is allowed, so how is it that you feel you have all the information you need to make the decision -- first for yourself, and second, for every other person in your country? It seems like you are just thankful your fears about your neighbors have been tranquilized? Where did those fears come from again?
It’s been discussed to death, literally. It’s hard to believe you’re asking for a discussion in good faith, when there’s clearly no evidence on your side, and your baseless “skepticism” has been indulged for almost 2 full years by the government and media. The outgoing German government bent over backwards for you Querdenker, and that’s why we’re still in this mess.
You’re simply wrong. You’re entitled to your wrong opinion, but you’re no longer entitled to force the rest of us to suffer for it.
The list of times when scientists and politicians have been wrong or just lied is a long one.
Are you so sure they are right this time? You are probably no expert so it seems like you are just taking their word for it. Good thing they are telling you it's the right thing to do!
> You’re simply wrong. You’re entitled to your wrong opinion, but you’re no longer entitled to force the rest of us to suffer for it.
The only one making you suffer is you not some 'other'. You are choosing to let fear become a wedge.
As a moral exercise, consider that when you force people against their will to do anything, you necessarily assume responsibility for the results, unless you are an immoral person. Are you willing to assume that responsibility? The manufacturers of the products are not. This in particular is a big red flag.
How would you feel if the roles were reversed and it was you who did not want some medical procedure? What if others just discounted your position out of hand?
