Is This Right?
Is This Right?
If I walked into Big Board with no pants on, I wouldn’t be fighting for freedom in the face of tyranny.
It’s Friday and we are going to get into another Reader’s Request, this time from Anonymous.
We don’t know who Anonymous is, but we feel like this person is very smart and pretty.
Anonymous asks:
Can you help explain the difference between a right and a privilege? People can’t figure it out! Especially here in DC when it comes to mask and vaccination mandates.
That’s why I’m here, Anonymous! There are some trigger words in this question, so this should be fun!
Mandated
For those readers who live outside the nation’s capital, DC has embraced the indoor mask and vaccination mandates. Basically, when you enter a gym, or a bar, or a restaurant, or a Starbucks to sit down and drink a Starbucks, you need to wear a mask and present your vaccination card along with your ID. If you don’t, you are not allowed to enter.
It’s pretty simple and has been this way for about a month.
Except it ended abruptly on Tuesday.
What-? This Is BIG!
While you scratch your head as to why Mayor Bowser lifted the mandates after only 30 some odd days, what happened in between is a small example of a bigger issue that Anonymous, who presumably is an excellent cook as well, wants to dive in on.
Speaking of big, the soon-to-be state, DC has had a peculiar battle with a family-owned bar/restaurant over the mandates that ultimately landed the bar effectively closed.
Why?
Because the bar didn’t check vaccination cards, nobody wore masks - not the patrons, staff, or rats that live downstairs. Owner Eric Flannery said he didn’t have the people to do such an intensive and thorough check that takes all of 45 seconds.
But it’s OKAY because Rand Paul LOVES THEM!
The Big Board and Me
In full disclosure, I loved Big Board. I used to live two blocks from the place. They have a great beer selection, the burgers are tasty, and so that I didn’t always appear to be some gross fat ass, the salmon salad is a dish that was thrown into circulation.
During my two work sabbaticals, I frequently spent days and nights there. The owners are good dudes, and the people who worked there were also fantastic. The concept of beer prices changing as the night went on was something I couldn’t wrap my head around, but whatever, the Big Apple Burger was my jam.
Having said all that, it baffled me that somehow putting on masks and making sure people are vaccinated became a cry for freedom in the face of tyranny.
Thank You, God
As United States citizens, we have certain rights. Rights were not given to us by the government but by God Himself. Like James Madison was Moses or something, The Lord God delivered a list of divine interventions through him. Thou shall have free press and assembly, have guns, don’t search my stuff, don’t charge me twice for the same crime, all this type of stuff.
The Constitution further protects other ideas, such as the right to vote, not being enslaved, and restricting the age of officeholders. It’s all clearly spelled out.
We can argue specifics of when someone is having their rights infringed upon. But we must make sure we understand the definitions. Okay?
Give Me Liberty, But First a Dictionary!
Tyranny is usually defined as an oppressive government, most often ruled by one person or party. They do cruel things like jail people endlessly, run shame elections, and force people to become vaccinated and wear masks to walk into a bar to enjoy a $12 burger, with a $5 side of fries, a $10 beer while you enjoy a night of trivia while watching your favorite sports team lose a close game because the refs stink, before going home by yourself or maybe with someone else.
There’s a terrible cost to tyranny, and it appears to be hangovers and regrets.
Seriously, it’s no wonder some people can always twist rights and privileges. We get fired up at the thought we are somehow oppressed!
Wanna Get Away?
I remember when Bill Clinton was president, he was trying to ban assault weapons, or whatever. He would get on TV and claim that since you had to show ID to get on an airplane, you probably needed to be added into a national registry, so we know who has guns and who doesn’t.
It’s really not the spirit of the two approaches.
The same has been said recently when it comes to voting. In my years of voting, I have never presented a state-issued card that says I’m allowed to drive, which features my address, so they know where to mail my speeding tickets. Not once. I’m actually on a registry that says I am eligible to vote. I say my name, confirm where they send my speed ticket, then enter a voting booth and strike a blow for socialism.
But we have politicians who think you need such an ID to vote because if you don’t, you must be cheating by voting for the opponent. Advocates of this thinking have also used the plane ticket metaphor.
Flying on a plane is a privilege. Denying me the opportunity to fly because I am an Irish American infringes my rights as a citizen not to be subjected to such treatment. The Constitution allowed the federal government the ability to make such sweeping rules. That’s freedom.
Nice Visual
You have the right to be served at Big Board; you do not have the right to do whatever you want in violation of whatever order the government has put in place.
I can’t show up at big board with no pants on. Not that anyone would notice, being an Irish American. But the point is the government can do what it needs to do, short of violating your rights, to reach the desired outcome. In this specific instance, we would like to reduce the death count to well below a 9/11 terrorist attack every day. Over the past month, vaccinations in DC increased by 3%.
Was it worth it? Maybe. But that’s not the point of this lesson.
If I walked into Big Board naked from my waist down, I would be made fun of terribly, as should the goobers from Kentucky, Tennessee, and the rest of the Southeastern Conference who think what Big Board did, ignore government restrictions, was taking on tyranny. Big Board wasn’t denied their right to serve delicious burgers. They were punished for effectively allowing people to walk in with no pants on.
I’m not going back to Big Board, pants or no pants, and it isn’t because they flaunted the mask and vaccination mandates; it’s because they didn’t shout down the idea that action the DC government took, even for thirty days, was tyranny, and their rights were being infringed.
It’s been a privilege to provide this lesson, Anonymous. I hope it has been helpful, definitions, imagery, and all.