Biden's Vaccine Mandates Are a Threat to Us All

Even if you are someone who voluntarily chose to receive the vaccine, please understand what is at stake. This “decree” is not about public health—it is about government control, pure and simple.

“We've been patient. But our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us.” —President Joe Biden, September 9, 2021

I’ve been mulling over this post for almost four weeks after reflecting on the administration’s plan to mandate vaccines. It’s still hard for me to believe that these words were spoken by a president of the United States, whether they be spoken by Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George Bush, or any other president. The President of the United States is an elected official—not a king or an autocratic ruler—which makes such threatening statements from the Commander in Chief entirely unbefitting of that high office. But it’s not simply the tone or tact of the President’s announcement that concerns me; the attempt at mandating a medical treatment for close to 80 million American workers is infinitely worse. The announcement was also somewhat surprising since the Biden administration had already admitted on multiple occasions that the federal government does not have the right or ability to mandate vaccines. This makes the attempted use of private employers to enforce such a mandate not only unconstitutional but also underhanded and duplicitous.

Three weeks of reflection on the proposed mandate has only further solidified my belief that such a mandate is not only unconstitutional but extremely dangerous to the values on which our nation was founded. Such a mandate overrides personal bodily autonomy, setting the precedent that the government can compel virtually any medical treatment in the name of public health. Such a mandate also tramples the religious convictions of countless Americans who cannot take the covid vaccine because of genuine ethical and moral objections. And such a mandate ushers in what can only be described as a kind of medical apartheid, with two classes of citizens segregated based on their vaccination status. These are only a few reasons such mandates must be fiercely resisted. Even if you are someone who voluntarily chose to receive the vaccine, please understand what is at stake. This “decree” is not about public health—it is about government control, pure and simple.

If it were really about public health, the proposed mandate would not exempt individuals who work for companies with fewer than 100 employees.

If it were really about public health, OSHA would not have suspended the legal requirement for employers to report work-related injuries resulting from covid vaccinations (this happened several months ago).

If it were really about public health, the administration would not support the termination of thousands upon thousands of healthcare workers who choose not to take the vaccine. Such firings are literally antithetical to caring for the sick at a time when hospitals are said to be strained.

And if it were really about public health, the vaccines should presumably work to stop transmission. But the administration knows—and the CDC has openly admitted—that these vaccines do not stop transmission, leaving no logical reason to mandate vaccines in order to “stop the spread.”

No reasonable argument can be made that these mandates are actually in the best interests of public health. They will instead do incalculable harm by forcing parents to lose jobs, children to lose stable homes, and friends to lose supportive relationships. And these harms are not merely hypothetical, as I know multiple students whose families have already been affected in all three of these ways even before the federal mandate has been officially put in place. But *even if* someone were to argue that the mandate has some connection to public health, please consider where such authoritarian health measures can lead. And if you need a present-day, real-world example, take a look at what is happening in Australia. That once-free nation has devolved into an absolute dystopian tyranny in fewer than 18 months. Truly, if you have not seen what is happening there, you need to see it with your own eyes. I would be more than happy to provide links to videos, news stories, and more.

Friends, I genuinely believe our time is growing short. If you have been waiting for the time to stand up for individual liberty—not just for yourself but for your families, your friends, your neighbors—that time is now. Yet another line has been crossed, and if Americans on both the right and the left do not push back now, we may not have another opportunity. This is not hyperbole or exaggeration. And if you lean to the left politically and believe that I am overstating the seriousness of this attempted mandate, imagine that President Trump made the same or similar statements. Or imagine that he was the one implementing policies intended to force *millions* of Americans to receive a medical treatment they do not want. Truly, if it were Donald Trump and not Joe Biden, would this situation be perceived differently? And as I’ve asked before, if the government can force you (or use employers to coerce you) to receive a vaccine, what can the government *not* force you to do if it’s done in the name of public health?

I want to be clear that I recognize covid has led to much suffering and death; that is not in dispute. Millions of other liberty-minded Americans also recognize the suffering that covid has wrought. But these Americans—on the right and the left—also recognize the grim reality of where unchecked government power can and will lead. One need only look to history to understand that the greatest atrocities of the 20th century were not brought about by sickness or other natural disasters but by authoritarian governments. And it is EXTREMELY important to remember that most of these governments did not seize power through brute force alone but also through relentless propaganda that divided their populations and demonized dissenters. We may believe that we are smarter than the citizens of these nations, thinking that such atrocities can never happen to us—where *we* live. But we are just as susceptible to authoritarianism as other nations, and if we are not careful to guard against ever-increasing government control, we can absolutely experience the same catastrophic results. We are kidding ourselves if we think it cannot happen here simply because we live in America. Remember: it is literally happening right now in the “free” nation of Australia.

Last thought that I hope to flesh out more soon: We need to stop viewing defending liberty and loving our neighbors as if they are opposed to one another. Over the past 18 months, I’ve lost count of the number of times people have accused me or others close to me of caring more about freedom than people’s lives. Certainly some people do care more about themselves than about others—it’s our fallen human nature to think of ourselves first, even if others are harmed. But it’s a false dichotomy to claim that liberty and love of neighbor are mutually exclusive; in fact, I believe it is intensely loving to stand up for the rights and freedoms of others.

Every time I advocate for medical freedom and other individual liberties, it’s *because* I love my neighbors. I desire their good. I desire their flourishing. And I desire to protect these neighbors—my family, my friends, my students, even complete strangers—even at great personal cost. Because of Christ’s work in my heart, I sincerely believe I would be willing to die for those around me if others’ lives were being threatened. And had I not been injured in the police academy, I would probably be patrolling the streets of local neighborhoods right now, seeking to defend the defenseless and to care for the oppressed. I’m not sharing this to draw attention to myself or to say “yay Josh” or anything like that; I’m simply trying to explain that love is what drives me to want to defend the rights of others. The same is true of countless others who also see the threat that our country and our world are facing. These men and women are not thinking of themselves when they stand up to government overreach; rather, they are thinking of their children, their neighbors, their parents, their spouses, their friends, their coworkers—their countrymen. Tragically, I think many who criticize these individuals for standing up for freedom have forgotten that human flourishing is inseparably linked to the preservation of individual liberty. Humanity does not flourish under totalitarian regimes. This is also a longer conversation for another day, but I think it’s a point we desperately need to remember in light of the tendency to pit liberty and love of neighbor against one another.

Thanks as always to those who take the time to read my posts. Please pray with me that God would grant us wisdom in the coming weeks and months to resist authoritarian policies and to work together for the good of our neighbors.