What are your thoughts regarding this statement from George Washington?

[Anonymous]

[BCA6010]

There's a pretty significant difference between the commander of the military ordering the standing army, versus ordering the entire country. If you really wanted to go that route, the US military already has a ton of mandatory vaccines, although up until this one, they have made exceptions for allergies and other health concerns regarding certain ones, the most common exception being the penicillin shot. So if using the military as a standard for the rest of the country, everybody better line up and in some cases bend over for about a dozen jabs up front, and maybe 3-6 annually.

There's also a significant difference between small pox and Covid, namely a mortality rate that is much, much higher than Covid, and also posed an existential threat due to predominantly children who were affected. Furthermore, no law was ever passed even as the country was being formally organized shortly thereafter (twice), so there is no "constitutional" argument to be made. If the country was formed solely on the opinions of George Washington, or really any individual involved in the nation's founding, it would be an unrecognizably different country for a lot more reasons than whether or not medical practices could be forced on the population or not.

It's not a totally braindead argument, but other than for maybe the handful of people who worship the word of Washington as gospel, it doesn't hold up.

[Asker]

He mentioned children. Also, as the first president, I seriously doubt that he changed his views.

[BCA6010]

Again, doesn't matter what he specifically believed because the founding fathers collectively chose not to pass a law at the time, or create any provisions allowing for such a law in the future, even as the Continental Congress was meeting in the summer of 1787. This was even as the entire point of the congress was to revise the Articles of Confederation and establish a stronger federal government. You could just as easily single out the opinion of any given attendee of the Continental Congress on any given subject; it doesn't matter because they did come to a consensus at the time.

[Asker]

I agree with George Washington
The health of the public is always the top priority.

[NaultD]

It dosen't matter. Anti vax and flat earthers have the same mentality. The world dosen't exist outside of your field of view. If it's not before your eye it's make believe conspiracy made from ancient alien, lizard people, demons.

We have access to all 2000 pages of medical notes on the development of the covid19 vaccine on the internet and they don't care. They will say do your own research on facebook.

[Asker]

Sad, but true...

[purplepoppy]

It's 2021 not 1777 you can't make decisions based on the opinions of people who've been dead for centuries

[Asker]

The point is that people are saying mandates of this type are new and unprecedented. Biden is trying to act in good faith to protect Americans, and people think he's doing something that has no historical precedent.

[Anonymous]

What I think about that statement from George Washinton is simply, he was wrong, and he was in the minority. I mean we get it you read the NYT opinion peice. George Washington to John Augustine Washington, 1 June 1777. The statement was in response to a Virginia Law that limited vaccinations, so even during the time of Washinton the people wanted medical freedom. What to you think about this quote from Founding Father Benjamin Rush:

"“The Constitution of this Republic should make special provision for medical freedom as well as religious freedom. To restrict the art of healing to one class of men and to deny equal privileges to others will constitute the Bastille of medical science. All such laws are un-American and despotic”
—Benjamin Rush, MD, A Founding Father and Signer of the Declaration of Independence (New World Encyclopedia)

Or how about this one from Thomas Jefferson?

"If we can but prevent the government from wasting the labours of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy." - Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Cooper, November 29, 1802

Or this quote from Benjamin Franklin?

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin

Or this one from Alexander Hamilton?

"Yet, however weak our country may be, I hope we shall never sacrifice our liberties."
Alexander Hamilton, Speech on the Compromises of the Constitution 1788

Or this one from Patrick Henry?

“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel." Patrick Henry, speech before the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 1788

"Give me Liberty or give me Death!" Patrick Henry 1775 Virginia Convention

Given that at the time Legislators were already limiting vaccination mandates, and the other Founding Fathers made their positions quite clear, George Washinton, in this instance was in the very small minority.

[Asker]

It has been and always will be my opinion that the health of the public comes before all else. People easily understand this when it comes to foreign invasion, but when it comes to being invaded by a deadly virus, there seems to be confusion. It is the responsibility of the government to protect us.

[Snakeyes7]

What was the punishment for not having the inoculation? Would people be ostracized from society if they knew it would compromise their immune system? Were they thrown in prison? Fined?

[joeldalton]

Ok, an inoculation is an injection of a live virus. Glad you’re signing up for it.