Not getting vaccine endangers others
No, you do not have the “right” not to get vaccinated. No, you do not have the “right” not to wear a mask. Just as the First Amendment doesn’t give you the “right” to “falsely shout ‘fire’ in a crowded theater,” you do not have the right to endanger others. Sit down, get the vaccine and be quiet.
MIKE CANFIELD, ATLANTA
COVID-19 vaccines saved lives, should be mandated
Maureen Downey’s column (AJC, Aug. 10) makes me bewildered at parents who oppose mask mandates in schools. Many of these people would agree with me that abortion would not be a good choice, yet they fail to conform to mandates that would protect my grandchildren and their children. They don’t have a choice about using child safety seats. They don’t have a choice about the inoculation of their children with vaccines currently required by schools. So why should the COVID-19 vaccine not be added to the list of requirements and require masking as an extra layer of protection?
Some will say a vaccination with “only” emergency approval should not be mandated, but the emergency was the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. The vaccines have saved lives and should be mandated.
JACK ARTHURTON, ROSWELL
On controlling virus, Gov. Kemp should lead or get out of the way
Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri have all provided Georgia with teachable moments. If Georgia does nothing different, we as a state will have proven that we cannot learn. Or, as I have been told, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different outcomes is the very definition of insanity.
COVID-19 can only multiply and mutate where there are unvaccinated people. If Gov. Kemp does not lead by mandating shots for those government entities he can control, he should at least get out of the way and let those who can learn lead their local areas to safety.
CHERYL BROWNSTEIN, WINDER
Selfish, power politics won’t solve America’s problems
Petty politics, revenge, and constant backstabbing are destroying whatever trust I have in local, state, and federal governments.
Serving in elected positions for life is so common the citizens vote blindly by watching 30-second ads on TV or rely on yard signs to direct their vote rather than a clear understanding of the candidates’ credentials, platform or basic qualifications.
Are we so shallow as to think well-known athletes, celebrities, and mindless promises of endless entitlements will serve the country’s greater good? Are we so shallow to think that more and bigger government is the answer to our ills, both real and imagined?
The national debt, open borders, crime, national defense, and other problems are extremely serious issues that require serious people to understand and resolve. I fear the current crowd in Washington and the government, in general, would rather be on a political team for power rather than address problems for the country’s good.
R.L. BAGGARLY, GRIFFIN
A letter that seems to lack a cogent point
I don’t see the value in publishing letters like the one claiming “Dire warnings are a bit overdone” (Readers Write, Aug. 10). It is unclear. What “dire warnings” is the author referring to? And it is confused. Is the main reason for his wearing a mask really “to avoid stares”? The casual comments like “a while back” and “my arms haven’t fallen off” don’t hide the ad hominem attacks on Dr. Fauci (“not impressed with . . . hysterics”) and President Biden (“has to be something wrong with him”). The only possible value in printing such a letter is to show how easily some people fall into lazy ways of thinking and speaking.
BILL BROWN, SANDY SPRINGS
