Jules Evans , you may not want to answer and if so, that’s OK, but I’m curious why you don’t agree? Also, to be clear, you are saying you don’t trust individuals to make the choice to get vaccinated for CV19 or not? Do I have that right?
If so, I want to explain why I find this deeply troubling. I see it as a rather widespread belief held by “liberals” who are college educated. It’s this idea that people are too stupid to make their own decisions and thus need to follow the advice or, in worse cases, mandates of “experts” or others placed in positions of authority.
My experience over the past several years has been one of falling out of friendships with said “liberals,” and making friends with folks who identify as conservatives. I have found that the people I’ve befriended may not have education credentials but they often have more homegrown, life wisdom than my former “liberal” friends. This is not to say they are right about everything; I disagree with them on many things. But I’m finding that many have the value of liberals that these other “liberals” increasingly don’t, which is they respect the free will and, yes, liberty of the individual. They believe individuals are better equipped to make decisions about their lives than collectives are. They also recognize that by having a society where this is a core value, individuals are going to make mistakes and that these mistakes are opportunities for growth. Putting the power of decision-making in the hands of the collective not only squashes opportunities for individuals to learn from their mistakes, it deflates the creativity of the individual which will contribute to making the society stronger.
Anyway, perhaps none of that thinking I’m describing describes your perspective. When I read your pieces (and when I’ve participated on calls you’ve hosted on Rebel Wisdom’s platform), I certainly have appreciated your humility and your seeming desire to seek the truth. But I guess I wonder, considering your comment to me, what you wrote in the piece and a few things I remember you saying in calls, if this stuff I bring up may be in your shadow?
Respectfully engaging in Sensemaking and collective growth here, I hope it’s taken that way. Have a great weekend and give my love to the “homeland” for me (I moved from the Seattle area to Japan in 2004, last US visit was in 2018, and had an epic cross-country adventure postponed in 2020 – I do miss the crazy-ass place and its people!).
-Bryan
