Sometimes, it's the little things that get you

When it became clear last year that the coronavirus hysteria was going to pave the way to mandatory vaccines, I was filled with dread. Several years ago, I proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would protect citizens from being forced to undergo medical procedures. I called it the Medical Freedom and Liberty amendment and although I was excited about the possibility of getting it passed, I never thought it would actually be necessary so soon.

Even if we had such an amendment now, I'm not sure it would matter. Governors and the people who currently call the White House home are making the most of the hysteria and fear generated by the last year of unceasing propaganda. Even though the Biden administration has officially indicated they are not interested in mandating the coronavirus vaccine, we all know the game by now: Under-promise. Over-deliver. Say something flippant to indicate you don't really care about a particular thing, then soon after, enact that thing with the explanation that you were forced to do it because others were unable to.

The mandatory coronavirus vaccine is just such a thing. The people who work in the White House have indicated through Biden that they don't wish to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory and prefer to let the private sector handle it. The private sector may be able to handle it but it will be extremely easy to highlight any shortcoming and swoop in to save the day. For instance, perhaps there are two or three different vaccine tracking apps that compete with each other. Enter the Press Secretary: "Well that's a problem because they're not compatible so the Federal government is going to have to take that over and enforce a common, standardized method for keeping track of your vaccination status. We didn't want to do this, but we're going to have to."

That's the over-delivering on the under-promise. It's an attempt at doing something you know people will hate you for and deflecting the blame on others. I'm guessing this will happen within the next 12 months.

When I first started seeing mentions of vaccine passports, I wasn't exactly surprised to see airlines listed as the first customers. International travel has plummeted since the first outbreaks of hysteria and countries who rely on tourism for their economy were hurting badly. Airlines represent a captive audience (stuck in an airport, willing to pay anything for a burger and bottle of water) where any semblance of privacy or personal freedom has already been given up.

When I first started seeing Israel implementing vaccine passports aggressively—to the point high school kids were prevented from graduating if they didn't have their coronavirus shots—I thought it made sense. If this coronavirus shot turns out to the be the long-awaited "Mark of the Beast" as mentioned in Revelation, Israel might symbolically be a good starting point. In the Old Testament, God's chosen people rarely learned from their mistakes and despite his seemingly endless patience with them, were always keen to worship something else. Jewish monotheism, long a distinguishing characteristic of their faith, may have finally ceded the celestial throne to science and religion.

I'm not sure why Christians seem to be so reluctant to consider the coronavirus vaccine as the possible mark of the beast. Pharmaceutical companies, raking in billions of dollars, indemnified by governments throughout the world from any harm their vaccines might cause, could certainly be considered to be monsters. Vaccines have always been fear-driven products and the likelihood those without a coronavirus vaccine will be unable to "buy or sell" anything, as suggested in Revelation, is high. It's not as though the Mark of the Beast was going to come in fiery red packaging with a warning label on it, though many Christians act as though it should. Revelation is such a wild book in the Bible, many believers have a hard time dealing with it, myself included at times. Symbolism? Or allegory? Or literal?

Because I will not take the vaccine, I have accepted I am not likely to ever fly commercial again, and may never be able to take my family to see Europe, something I was very keen to do one day. This will negatively affect my ability to run a business or visit family members. Even something simple like going on a vacation will have to be done by car now. I'm guessing trains and ships will follow suit and require vaccination for their use.

This was a tough pill to swallow, but sometimes it's the little things that really get you. Several years ago I spent a weekend “racing” my car around a track in Virginia. It’s called a HPDS—High Performance Driving School. You aren’t really racing anyone—just yourself—and it’s a relatively safe way to learn to drive fast and see what your car is capable of doing. At the time, I had a car with almost 500 horsepower (a 2006 E55 Mercedes for those of you who are curious) and was glad to finally be able to give it a good thrashing on the track.

It was great fun and I was looking forward to going again, possibly with my family. You can probably guess where this is headed. Yesterday, I received an email from the driving club that puts on this event 3-4 times a year with the ominous subject line: COVID Vaccine requirements for June school.

For some reason, this email really got me. The possibility for travel being completely extinguished is a huge deal, big enough that I can’t really comprehend how it may change things for me. It’s not that I travel much (haven’t flown in 4 years), but not being able to fly or possibly even step on a boat or train at all feels like something I can’t really process at the moment. To see this tiny little guilty pleasure of mine, a little 2-day, once every few years birthday gift to myself, to see it extinguished, with the possibility I’ll never be able to do it again—that really got to me. I can understand the big stuff. I get that there’s a lot at stake and common sense is not likely to rule the day. But for these little things, something as trivial as a weekend driving school, to post this:

Have your vaccine plans finalized and your first shots in arms ASAP!  The June 12th final shot deadline is not negotiable.  There will be no exceptions to being fully vaccinated prior to the event.

It’s heartbreaking in a way. I didn’t think the hysteria would trickle so far down the chain. I’ve been pondering what other things may be soon stripped from my life. I’ve already written about how I will be unable to renew my Concealed Carry permit because I refuse to wear a mask. My lone social outlet is through a few tennis leagues I play in throughout the year and am now wondering if they’re going to insist on players having a coronavirus vaccine. My family once enjoyed going to music concerts and I’m seriously wondering if we will ever even be able to do that again.

I can always play tennis with friends and family, but starting an orchestra or choir and building a music hall to perform in will definitely be tricky. So will getting to Paris. I’m sure there will be many other tiny good-byes to work through over the next few years as we adjust to the stilted life of those who refuse vaccines but for some reason, it’s the little things that can really get you.