I do not think that personal choice is more important than commu-

nity health. Don’t get me wrong - I love personal choice, and allowing
people to exercise their freedoms, but when their personal choice gets in
the way of the rest of humanity’s livelihood and right to live and be
healthy, I don’t think that is okay. Global pandemics, like the Covid-19 pan-
demic we are currently facing, greatly highlight this issue and debate in
society. In the case of a disease or illness that is contagious, like the
Coronavirus, I think that it’s morally obligatory to consider the fellow
human beings on earth, and to realize that your decisions can directly or
indirectly affect a life in a very serious way. You have to step back and
say to yourself,

“Am I willing to sacrifice for the greater good?”

The pandemic has brought to light a lot of debates and conversa-
tions about personal freedom and personal rights. For instance, some
feel that wearing a face mask should not be forced or required, and that
it’s their right whether they want to protect themselves. The thing is, in
this situation, you are not only dealing with your own protection; you
are dealing with the protection of everyone else. This is different than
the issue of smoking, let’s say, because in most cases, unless you’re talking
about second-hand smoke in households, planes, cars, etc., smoking will
only have a negative impact on the smoker. In this case, it doesn’t really
impact humanity’s wellbeing if one person makes the personal choice to
smoke. Another major debate is regarding the covid-19 vaccines. The
United States, in particular, is divided on the topic. There are those who
have willingly gotten the vaccine, encourage others to get vaccinated,
and trust and believe the science and approvals behind the vaccine. These
people have played their part in trying to make an end to the pandemic,
and they have thought about their own protection as well as others
around them. On the other hand, there is a significant group of people
who refuse to get vaccinated, encourage others to not get vaccinated,
and even believe that the pandemic is a hoax or that the vaccine is actu-
ally the government inserting a chip into you.

(creative, I knowwww).
We were all just put on earth

(for who knows why?),

and are trying to live happy, healthy lives. If some-

one refuses to get the vaccine because they believe
that it will kill you,
(even though it’s FDA approved, *sigh*),
do they not realize that not getting
the vaccine will continue the spread of
covid and most likely kill someone
else?
So NO, I don’t think it’s right for someone to dictate the futures of others
due to personal choice.