Eleanor Roosevelt & Freedom
The Human Rights Champion Understood The Bigger Picture
“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.” — Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote that in her book, You Learn By Living: Eleven Keys To A More Fulfilling Life in 1960. It speaks loudly to the moment. More and more people are arguing that their freedom is absolute as the world, nations, and cities try to get control of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Notably, NBA basketball star Kyrie Irving has refused to get vaccinated and as a result, is unable to play basketball so far this year. It is more than a questionable stance because Irving is claiming he is taking his stand for other people as well.
Police officers across the country are refusing to be vaccinated and have decided to resign rather than be forced to be vaccinated. If there is any group that should be vaccinated, it is our first responders who deal with the public every day.
The First Lady’s quote is about maturity and responsibility. You are granted freedom and it is individual freedom. But it is also a freedom that requires an acceptance that you are a citizen in society.
Roosevelt, in the same book, also writes of freedom that “when you come to understand the limits of self-discipline, you understand freedom. You grasp that freedom is never absolute, that it must always be contained within the framework of other people’s freedom.”
This is all everyone is asking of those who continue to refuse to be vaccinated even though they work in the crosshairs of the virus. Police officers. Health care workers. Teachers. It is also a message to anyone refusing to get vaccinated for dubious or selfish reasons.
But don’t get vaccinated. It is your right. But also realize you are also agreeing to sacrifice your absolute freedom by walking around without protection and by not protecting yourself against others. Be a citizen.
Misinformation and bad analogies in support of anti-vaxxing are also rampant about the vaccination and are destructive to this ongoing global fight to control a deadly virus that has infected and killed millions.
The Black Coalition Against Covid from the beginning of the pandemic has supported all preventive efforts and now supports vaccinations. Stands like theirs are vital to beating the virus and are great examples of civic responsibility.
Vaccinations have been a successful development in modern health. Most people in the U.S. get multiple vaccines and there are few protests. In fact, it seems the protest these days by police, health care workers, and many others are only related to the Covid-19 vaccine.
However, the conduct of those refusing the vaccine is a refusal not just of a well-tested, successful vaccine, but is a refusal to take personal responsibility and live as a real citizen with regard for one’s fellow citizens.
Eleanor Roosevelt said it perfectly — “with freedom comes responsibility.” Be free but be responsible. This is basic humanity.
Related Writings
Sources
Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn By Living: Eleven Keys To A More Fulfilling Life, Harper Collins, 1960
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