Vaccinations

I listen with curiosity and concern to the arguments of those who complain about the pressure to get vaccinated and the unjust measures taken by governments to restrict the freedom of the unvaccinated. I also listen to all of those who refuse to get vaccinated for various metaphysical reasons, based on perceptions which originate in the Middle Ages or various conspiracy theories. But I think that those who think rationally but still refuse to get vaccinated do not approach the issue from the right angle and they behave in a selfish and immature manner.

We are not getting vaccinated because our personal health is at risk. We are getting vaccinated because the lives of all people in the society we live in are endangered and the proper functioning of our society is compromised. Vaccination is not a matter of personal choice and individual freedom. If we lived outside of society in isolation, away from each other without coming into contact with other people and without needing the work and contribution of others for our survival, then we could justifiably argue about the right of personal choice and freedom. But we live in a society of people, we come in daily contact with others and our survival is based not only on ourselves but also on others. Therefore, vaccination is not a matter of personal choice but an obligation for everyone’s health. By the same token, there are laws, taxation and the like, that is, some obligations that we have to satisfy precisely because we live in a human society and not in isolation. It is therefore selfish to demand without much thought rights and freedoms that endanger the health of our fellow human beings, our family and, of course, ourselves. 

Selfish thinking and lack of social responsibility, cooperation and sensitivity towards our fellow human beings, are of course a result of the type of economy and society we have created, the philosophy that gives importance and value to competition and focuses on personal growth and success, if needed at the expense of others, the society or the planet itself. The ongoing climate crisis and the destruction of the natural environment, which threaten us with extinction, are also the result of this problem.

However, Nature is not interested in our economic models, our inhumane policies, the rise of the Stock Exchange, the increase of production, the maximisation of profit and all the other similar nonsense that we have invented to satisfy our egoism. Nature is not interested in our personal views, dreams, fantasies and mythology.

We know that in Nature there is the process of evolution through natural selection, the one that led us to our current form of homo sapiens sapiens, but also the reason behind the continuous mutations of the coronavirus that torment us. The species that has the physical / mental ability to successfully respond to the dangers that arise is the one which ultimately survives. But today in the world we have created there is a great deal of interdependence to the point that a mistake made by some people in some part of the world can negatively affect the entire planet. Thus, the evolution and survival of humanity depends on what we all do, how we all react to the problems and difficulties we face in time. 

Are we going to behave in a smart or stupid manner? Are we going to let our superstitions, religious and political fantasies, ignorance and lack of education guide our decisions in the future? Are we going to decide, even compulsorily, to discard ideas, views and systems that do not work in the interest of all humanity? Are we going to follow the path of Science, research and its results? This adventure is yet another important test for man to show if he is worth having a future or whether it is time for Nature to try a better recipe for its biological soup of intelligence.