The government’s authority to mandate vaccinations follows
exactly the same logic as the government’s authority to set speed limits on
public roads. You might say this is a matter of freedom, that you have a right
to go as fast as you like. You might be willing to take on the personal risks
of high speeds. You might even argue that going fast is not inherently criminal.
It is, however, the government’s job to protect its citizens from all threats
foreign and domestic. And exercising your “freedom,” your “right to go fast”
puts not just you but everyone else on the road in obvious, mortal danger. For
this reason very few people question the authority of the government to
regulate such behavior on public roads. Vaccines are like speed limits. You may
believe you have the right to decide whether you wish to take the risk of
remaining unvaccinated. Refusing medicine is not an inherently criminal act.
But your refusal puts not just yourself but everyone you come into contact with
in obvious, mortal danger. The government therefore has the authority to tell
you you must get the vaccine or stay out of pubic spaces. Businesses have the right
to tell you you have to be vaccinated or stay out of their own private spaces.
This is a public good. This is at the heart of the mission of good government,
and is in fact included in the our government’s mission statement, the preamble
to the Constitution, which includes the directive: “to promote the general
welfare.”
