Leave it to Americans to spoof their scary disease du jour.
Several viral videos have satirized the coronavirus and the vaccines and other ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œwokeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ adaptations in dark if also hilarious ways. But the one that made me laugh out loud was ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œComing Next YearÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ by comedian and viral-content creator (yes, there is such a thing) Tyler Fischer.
I recommend it for your sanity and edification. What better way to wrap up another dreary year than with a humorous look at our increasingly absurd expressions of political correctness or, in todayÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s vernacular, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œwokenessÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥?
The coronavirus vaccine is just one of FischerÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s targets. In brief, a guy trying to earn passage into an unidentified building must provide proof that he has submitted to a laundry list of government mandates. His proof of having received numerous booster shots consists of multiple Band-Aids crossing his arms and torso.
Suffice to say, FischerÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s view of our future is full of busyness attending to socially approved and government-enforced commandments and an inevitable loss of freedom. This slide into servitude began with the vaccine and escalated with the various employment-based mandates that followed. Some people feel so strongly about not requiring a vaccine that the Supreme Court plans to hold a special hearing on Jan. 7 to consider the legality of two White House initiatives to curb the pandemic.
The court has promised to move quickly on the two questions ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” a vaccine-or-testing mandate for larger employers of more than 100 people and a vaccination requirement for health-care workers in institutions that receive federal funding. Government projections are that 22 million people would get vaccinated and prevent 250,000 hospitalizations if both are allowed to stand. MoreÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s the haste given recent predictions that 60% of Americans will be infected with the dominant omicron variant by March.
For the record, IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m all shot up ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” two vaccines and a booster. The first injection gave me a sore arm; the second kept me in bed for 10 hours. When my body aches suddenly ceased close to cocktail hour, I popped out of bed, said, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThat was weird,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ and poured myself a glass of wine. The booster? Nada.
ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s abundantly clear that vaccines at the very least help reduce the intensity of COVID-19. The booster helps even more. Most vaccinated people evade infection entirely, probably in part because they also take other precautions, such as distancing and masking. Those whoÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve died of COVID over the past several months were almost exclusively unvaccinated.
All of this is known to nearly everyone by now ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” and the scientific evidence has been convincing enough for me to endure a few hours of inconvenience. Beats dying. Yet, only 62% of Americans are fully vaccinated, and many are rabidly opposed to getting a shot. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThis is war,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve heard people say on both sides of the issue. Sensibly speaking, are you people insane?
Still, I do understand the revulsion toward government mandates. WeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re all a bit anti-establishment, arenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t we? Americans didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t become obstreperous just recently. Our warring spirit and a predilection to oppose authority precedes our arrival to these shores. WeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re all rebels by virtue of most of us having crossed the pond, so to speak. Saying no may not be wise in some circumstances, but as a countercultural posture, we customarily view dissent as a basic right.
To the anti-vaccine contingent, a vaccine mandate is tantamount to a violation of oneÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s autonomy. Our bodies, ourselves is more than a book title. No one is entitled to enter my temple without my permission. Case closed. And yet: How can some people see the vaccine as a gift and others view it as a toxin contrived for dubious purposes? How do we bridge this gap?
It appears that we need a new tack. Convincing others to follow the majorityÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s lead requires diplomacy and empathy rather than finger-pointing and shaming. President BidenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s recent warning to the unvaccinated as more or less deserving to get sick is hardly helpful.
The challenge for 2022 is how to reconcile these two opposing views. One requires a united front against a potentially deadly disease (which could be with us forever), the other demands respect for individual rights. Philosophically, I support both views, but practically, I come down on the side of unity for the common good. Voluntary vaccination seems to me the only avenue for reconciliation.
Whether we can be a unified country again on any subject is a coin toss. But one thing we can agree upon is that laughter is good for body and soul. To that end, Tyler Fischer for one has provided a public service. Laughing at oneself, after all, is a sign of intelligence. Sort of like voluntarily getting vaccinated against a disease nobody wants to get.
