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Friday 17 April 2015

The Unwelcome Burden of Community Spirit

Child vaccinations should not be compulsory. Really, they shouldn't.

But in Australia, it will be mandatory from January 2016 for all parents to vaccinate their children, and conscientious objection will no longer be considered a valid exemption for parents who wish to receive childcare benefits and the Childcare Rebate.

Of course, many in our community regard this as a form of blackmail, and a regrettable development in a society that values freedom of choice.

Parents should be trusted to make an informed decision without pressure. They should be offered all relevant, scientifically supported information on the pros and cons of vaccination, and trusted to make their decision based on their own sense of community spirit and what they know, deep down, to be the most responsible course of action.

While we're on the subject of the Australian government's love of enforced choices, let's talk about road rules:

Many of you may not be aware of this, but in Australia it is regarded as an offence to drive on the right-hand side of the road.  In fact it is regarded as mandatory practice to drive on the left.  It's a law that is enforced with fines for non-compliance, and its implementation is clear proof that the government does not trust us to make our own informed choices, and totally ignores any ethical, cultural or religious beliefs that may be compromised by driving on the left-hand side.

Just as the proposed No Jab, No Pay policy is offensive to those who value personal freedom, so this law should also outrage many. Just because a majority of citizens has been lead to believe it is safer for all road users to comply with a single common practice, it does not follow that the law is right for everyone.

What is the real agenda here? Is it mere coincidence that a failure to comply with this law results in a fine?  Sounds like a perfect way to raise revenue, if you ask me.

What exactly is so bad about driving on any side we choose? What is so good about everyone driving on the left? If our lawmakers are truly unbiased, then surely there should be an objective study into the adverse effects of everyone driving on the left, not just the benefits. Where is that study? Has the dog eaten it?

Furthermore, if such a study exists, then why has no government agency ever released the data showing the results? What are they hiding?

And why is it so important to enforce a law that has proven to be totally ineffective in preventing DUI and speed-related fatalities?  To my knowledge, the rule of driving on the left has been enforced for as long as there have been roadways in Australia, and yet such fatalities have increased drastically.

Be sure to drive on the left, Mr Drunk Guy!
So many questions left unanswered, simply because the majority of citizens take the practice of driving on the left for granted, and have never thought to question it.

Wake up sheeple!!

*****

See, the problem with fighting for individual freedom at the cost of all else, is that while our fellow citizens should be trusted to make the right choices for their own family and the community as a whole based on the facts that are freely available to them, the reality is that many simply cannot be trusted to do so, because they feel their own liberty is more important than the wellbeing of the broader community.

This is why public laws exist in the first place, despite most - if not all - such laws simply enforcing actions that are based on common sense that most of us are intellectually equipped to exercise of our own volition; regardless of an obligation to consider fellow community members, many of us can't resist being adversely self-indulgent, and sometimes this indulgence comes at a high price - a price that is paid by others, and not just by those who indulge.

The solution is to remove the burden of choice that comes with unlimited liberty, and simply enforce a socially compatible practice that carries a punishment for non-compliance.

This is the price of living in a reciprocally supportive community; You are obliged to act for the greater good.

It sucks, but there it is.


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