It’s a NO from me
Once upon a time heated debates were mostly conducted within the framework of “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” For the longest time these words (incorrectly attributed to the 18th century French philosopher Voltaire) resided solidly at the heart of Western ideas about liberalism and openness. They were enshrined, in modified form, within the First Amendment to the US Constitution which specifically protects the spreading of misinformation. Yes, you read that right, the US constitution was set up to allow for – not restrict – misinformation. This choice was not the result of white supremacy but the flowed from the realisation that that the control of people’s behaviours begins with the control of their speech.
Centuries later and it remains vital that people retain freedom of speech, whether fact-checkers like it not. The ability to speak the truth, as each person sees it, underpins our civilisation because what is widely perceived as false may at times simply be true, but unpopular. Hard though it may be to swallow, there is no such thing as hate speech, only speech you don’t like and words you can’t handle. Free speech is an existential matter because the entirety of human progress is built upon the fact that humans advance by the adoption of ideas that were once deemed false by the majority.
But this is not just about freedom of speech. It is about freedom of choice, so I am perfectly happy for people to take any vaccine, if they wish. I am perfectly happy for Big Pharma to manufacture it, and for people to take the boosters, forever, if they wish. But forcing people, either directly or indirectly generates a no from me. Governments around the world have considerable power in this area, but none of them have the authority to coerce, threaten or manipulate. They do not have the right to gaslight people into submission or to allow the withholding of services on the basis of vaccination. And by doing this, as some now have, they are crossing a line which many thought could never be breached.
This is so important because every individual on the planet is walking around with a set of thoughts and emotions, and a catalogue of experiences that no-one else has the slightest clue about. Maybe friends or loved ones are able to gain some insight into what is going on inside you, but those least qualified to know what people think and feel, want or need, are governments. It is true that governments can serve certain demographic groups well and make it their business to point to certain increases or decreases of this, that or the another among the general population, so as to gain support for their policies. But at no point does any government know what I, or any other individual, needs, and they assert too much to themselves when they claim that they do.
So enough with the vilification and propaganda. It’s time to stop the blatant lies and misdirection that we have been fed for 18 months. They need to stop it because people can see through it. Bullshit certainly baffles brains, and many people have felt overwhelmed by the data. But many people have felt something else too, that there is something not quite right about any of this.
And enough with the hypocrisy. I don’t want to hear about the necessity of protecting minority rights, to be anti-racist or pro-LGBT when the rights of the greatest minority on earth, the minority of one, the individual, are being trampled underfoot. There should be no discrimination toward anyone, ever. All people deserve dignity and respect, but that must include the people you don’t agree with.
Some have tried to quash their doubts about what is happening deep down inside them, others have organised and connected with others. Others still are floundering around trying to connect the dots. But all of them know that something is not quite right.
We all know the history. Or at least we should! Thalidomide was safe before it wasn’t. Smoking was ok before it wasn’t. Corporal punishment was good for the child before it wasn’t. Racism and other forms of discrimination were widely accepted, even encouraged, before they weren’t. The accepted view is often wrong, and herd are always guilty of perpetuating injustice and unfairness.
History is littered with these examples, where the herd got it wrong, and as a result the wise person knows that people go mad in crowds, and only later on, individually, do they come to their senses. This is why it is essential, for the good of everyone, that individual dissension be tolerated, because without it the herd will run themselves over the cliff edge ‘for their own safety’.
Not only does the mandating of vaccines make no sense in the context of history, it makes no sense in the context of personal development either. The whole essence of personal development is to learn to be able to trust yourself, so that you may reduce your reliance upon external systems. There is little point in unplugging from one set of false beliefs only to hurl yourself headlong into another.
All this boils down to the fact that people are free. They are not the property of others or under the control of governments. It is a matter of principle and honour, spiritual integrity if you like, to be able to say NO and to insist that OTHERS ACCEPT IT. Even those who say yes, should they wish to preserve their own decision-making ability for the future, will assist those who say no.
This is not about the efficacy or safety of any vaccine. There are arguments both ways and I don’t know enough to be sure. But that is kind of the point. Because I am not sure, because I don’t trust government, because I know all about the three types of lies (lies, damned lies and statistics) and because something feels very off, I exert my right to say NO. I do not have to give reasons for this, and no-one has a right to ask me, still less to shame me over it. It is no-one else’s business what anyone puts into their body. When it comes to my own body and soul, something which no-one else knows anything about, I have a right to do as I please. Wars have been fought over this principle and I find it astonishing that this should even be in doubt.
Of course, I know that we have never had absolute freedom to choose. But individual conscience is one of the foundations of Western civilisation, the freedom to say no to power has built the world in which we live. Yet here we are, ignorant and fearful, as if our own history were just another boxset to be watched when we are too tired to do anything else.
The very essence of human, moral and spiritual development is self-realisation and self-actualisation. Life is not, as some would like to claim, all about looking after others. Others can only be supported, cared for and healed in any meaningful way by those who are themselves strong. So, every individual has to get strong, by going their own way, by learning, by failing, by falling down and maybe even hurting themselves quite badly before they get up again. Everyone has to learn how to make decisions for themselves, off their own backs, and be held accountable for their choices. To develop as a human being is not about submerging yourself within any kind of community or collective, at least not until you know a lot more about yourself. Life is not all about the self, but it begins and ends with the self.
The human soul needs to self-realise, this is what it is here to do, and each of us go about this through informed choice and free will decision-making, some of which is bound to be wrong. To discard this is to undermine the very foundation of our society. Yet this is where we are, plunged into a madness where many ordinary people, profoundly uncomfortable with what is happening, are being condemned and coerced in appalling ways. I wish our leaders would reflect on the absolute firestorm of karma they are storing up for themselves. Those who coerce others are fated, sooner or later, to be on the receiving end of similar treatment themselves.
Yet some will say, “I have the right to not get sick and die”. But, sorry, there is no such right. Every single person has an opportunity to try their best to learn, grow and develop, to live their best life and try to help others to do the same. But there exists no right to claim more than this, especially if while doing so you tread over others. Every illness from Covid is sad, and every death from it a tragedy, but you don’t honour the dead by destroying society.
My existence, vaccine free, makes no difference to yours. If you are vulnerable, shield yourself. If you need assistance with this I will help you. If you are not sure whether you are vulnerable, take the precautionary principle and shield yourself anyway. Again, I will help you with this, if required. Wear a mask, if you wish. Keep your distance if you wish. Again, I am in full support of this. Do what you see fit and learn from the consequences of these choices if you get them wrong. Maybe you would like to get a little stronger so that you don’t have to do any of these things. Again, I am available to assist you in this. Maybe you would like to help protect and support others? Maybe you would like to encourage people to wash their hands more regularly? Again, I am with you all the way. But you have no right to insist that others shield themselves for you, and still less to insist that they inject themselves with something where the long-term effects are unknown. You may make a free choice to inject, and if so, I support that. But a healthy world is one full of diversity of thought and action, where people come and go, as they see fit. This means we tolerate those who dissent.
I have the right to decide what goes into my body. It’s a point of principle and, for me, it’s a hill to die on. And I literally mean that. I am quite happy to die for this knowing that I have stood up against the evil that is running rampant across this planet. No one gets to say, under any pretext, that I must inject myself when I am not comfortable about doing so. I don’t care if the vaccine has even a 99% success rate, it is my decision to make, and no one else’s. I completely reject the idea that everyone else is better off if I go against what I know in my heart to be true.
This is not survival of the fittest or hyper-individualism. On the contrary, it’s a sacrifice. Unlike the many social media influencers who have taken cash payments to promote both lockdowns and vaccines, I receive nothing but friction for my views. Yet I state them here for your benefit, not mine. Because you can guarantee that if government can force its citizens to take a vaccine it can pretty much force them to do anything. Such a people will no longer be free in any meaningful way and will have become slaves, property of the state, to be corralled as the power elites see fit.
The consequences of not taking the vaccine are on the individual, and if you get the virus and pass it onto someone who subsequently dies then that’s on you. But everything you do is on you because every move you make and every breath you take is your responsibility. And taking the vaccine does not release you from this. In fact, one of the lesser-known side-effects is that if by cheerleading for vaccination you help to usher in a totalitarian society then you can be sure that you will feel the rough end of the same stick, through the beautiful process of karma, in some future lifetime.
Each person is sovereign and must do as they see fit. They should make strenuous efforts to inform themselves, and others are free to try to inform them. But the moment that someone is threatened with the loss of their livelihood, restricted access to services or ex-communication from society, simply for the act of following their personal conscience, then you know that our civilisation has taken a dark turn, and that millions of people who once seemed perfectly ordinary and respectable have in fact gone stark, staring mad.
