"Freedom's Just Another Word for . . ."

Give the bullies an inch and they’ll take a mile or two.  That’s where we are as a peculiar form of sociopathic narcissism sweeps through the country.

This small rant was inspired by a shopping trip this week to our local grocery store.   A large sign at the entrance reads, “MASKS REQUIRED.”   Dozens of “freedom” shoppers strutted mask-less past the sign.  At checkout, a gum-chewing, mask-free young woman gazed at her phone as the store manager bagged her groceries.  He wore a gaiter style mask, drooped well below his nose.  Perhaps your response would be like my response - I seethed in silence.  There have been too many reports of physical altercations and I, 74 and recovering from a serious injury, am no longer eager for confrontation.  The posture of a few male shoppers suggested an “I dare you” state of mind, a dare I might have relished four or five decades ago.  I’m not proud of that.  

The cashier said the company forbids enforcement and, of course, he should not be expected to take that risk.  He added that he was similarly disallowed from enforcing store policy that prohibits all but law enforcement officers from carrying weapons in the store. 

It should be little surprise that the “nobody is going to tell me what to do” phenomenon is running rampant.  A former president flouted the law with impunity.  Members of Congress barge through metal detectors with weapons.   Livid, crimson-faced “freedom” fighters, veins bulging in their necks, verbally assault public officials at school board and town council meetings, too often shutting them down entirely.  Bullies.

The conflict over masks and vaccines has intensified as schools opened.  The pushback against mandates ranges from unconscionably dangerous fools like Governors Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott, to activists in my community who organize resistance and are mounting campaigns to replace the town trustees and school board members who voted for school or public masking.

These 21st century rebels with a cause are armed with a bibliography of nonsense.  I’m retired and may have too much time on my hands as evidenced by my repeated and futile efforts to reason with anti-maskers on Facebook or on our community bulletin board.  For every pronouncement from the Centers for Disease Control, there are dozens of allusions to “research” proving that masks are dangerous, vaccines install micro-chips and, if all else fails, some combination of Hillary’s emails, Hunter Biden and George Soros.

If I note that I trust a coalition of the world’s most prominent epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists more than I trust Tucker Carlson, I’m likely to be accused of being brainwashed by the lame stream media, especially the New York Times, whose reporters are members of a vast conspiracy, colluding with nefarious forces who are determined to turn America into a socialist nation - like Boulder or Vermont.    

Aside from the wackadoodles who parrot conspiracy theories and get their science lessons from Marjorie Taylor Greene, most of the objectors invoke the notion of “freedom,” readily accepting others’ decision to mask or be vaccinated, but rejecting any policy or law that restricts their ability to choose - for themselves and for their children.  These are not necessarily Trump Republicans.  With a little research I learned that the leader of the local resistance is also the chair of CO Libertarians, although he does not acknowledge the affiliation in his anti-mask work.  Libertarianism is the political manifestation of middle school student philosophy, rooted in the developmentally appropriate “You can’t tell me what to do” tradition.  It is a healthy developmental phase but not so healthy for a complex democratic republic.  Libertarianism is nothing more than adolescence dressed up in pinstripes.

This is not a philosophy blog, but a dollop of Immanuel Kant might be apt.  In his Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals Kant wrote, "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”

In this light, anti-maskers and vaccine skeptics are on very thin and dangerous ice.  Should they will that their actions “become a universal law,” an already devastating pandemic would be far worse. 

It may occur to you, as it has to me, that this is the same dynamic that drives education reform, especially in the form of school choice and vouchers.  The intersecting dynamics are complex; freedom to pick the school I like; escape from things I don’t want, i.e. diversity, equity and inclusion; history lessons conforming to my bias; prayers and other religious practices.  And, of course, there is much profit to be made in the gradual shift from universal public education to a market-based, consumer-driven hodgepodge.  Again, Kant’s imperative makes the truth transparent.  If school choice is a universal law, the public system is doomed.  We are on the precipice.

All these variations of “I can do what I want” are forwarded by bullies; aggressive anti-maskers and the extremely wealthy conservatives and libertarians who hide in the shadows of intentional obfuscation and funnel billions of dollars into the calculated effort to undermine public education, resist universal health care and exploit every human need for profit.

It is past time that we assert the rights of the majority and confront the bullies.  My local grocery store can enforce the mask mandate or be shuttered.  The “freedom” shoppers can face stiff fines or, if they press the issue, a few days in county jail.   Corrupt “freedom” politicians like DeSantis and Abbott should be charged with dereliction of duty or indicted for endangering the lives of children. 

With Trump as a poster child, we’ve let anti-democratic bullies threaten the very fabric of civil society.   

To twist Kris Kristofferson’s  anthem, the libertarian version of “freedom” is “just another word for everything left to lose.”