You're not the boss of me!

There's no way to measure the "total stubbornness" quotient of people, but Americans must be ranked fairly highly when it comes to being stubborn.

We don't use that word, preferring stuff like "I'm free," and "Live free or die," or some such. But freedom has almost nothing to do with why people routinely choose bad options and proudly defend their right to say no to, well, almost anything.

Every day I am reminded of how many "mandates" and "thou shalt nots" surround us, and how most of them once inspired protest and naysaying but are now just the way we live. Seatbelts were quite controversial in my youth -- lots of wacky stories about fear of being trapped underwater after a car plunges off a bridge, so it's best to be "safe" and able to get free -- and I was too young to know it, but there must have been lots of folks who railed against the polio vaccine in the 1950s. 

Speed limits limit our freedom to drive as fast as we feel is safe, and some people bend or simply ignore those limits --FREEDOM! -- but most drivers stick fairly close to the posted limits. Same with stop lights. "You can't tell me when to come to a complete stop to let other traffic move along. I want to GO!"

One might think that after decades of evidence about the efficiency of vaccines in preventing (and sometimes ending) certain diseases, Americans might treat the idea of getting an approved vaccine in the same way as we put on our seat belts. Automakers have engineered them to be easy and effective and most of us don't really pause to think about "clicking." 

Here is a short list of vaccines that the vast majority of Americans receive when they are young children -- of course, the freedom of children is severely limited since they are not fully rational adults:

• Diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (pertussis) (DTaP)
• Polio (IPV)
• Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
• Chickenpox (varicella)

Most public schools mandate most of these vaccines for entering students and most people go along with them. The safety of their children and other children around them outweighs individual choice. In just a generation or two, vaccines essentially wipe out lots of dangerous disease.

Everyone is stubborn about some things, of course, and the idea of "sticking to your guns" (which couldn't be a more American idiom) can be laudable.

But stubbornly refusing to stop at the red light will eventually injure or kill a person, plus others involved in resultant crashes.

We know how to "fix" our pandemic problems. Government needs to step up and create laws and regulations that mandate vaccines. That's it. It was good to see today that some states (not Red ones, God forbid) are starting to mandate vaccinations or weekly testing for Covid. The VA system is mandating vaccines for front-line health workers.

Will there be protests? Duh. Will most people break down and begrudgingly get the vaccine if not doing so keeps them from working or going to a concert or ballgame or flying on a plane? Duh.

Will getting vaccinated eliminate the human trait of stubbornly ignoring common sense and facts? 

Duh.