Authoritarianism stymies job search

Laren Reesman, Staff Writer

Authoritarian is the only way to describe the onslaught of harsh vaccine mandates and firings of noncompliant employees worldwide. Young, healthy, low-risk individuals who do not need a vaccine will be forced to get one to simply find a job. In fact, some areas like Seattle [Washington] require vaccine cards just to enter public spaces. These tactics are bordering on ludicrous, as the entire population is not fully vaccinated for any virus or disease, many of them more deadly than COVID. This is an attempt for the government to control our lives under a disguise of “safety”.

Personally, I would feel safer if I had agency over my decisions. The pressure to get vaccinated for graduating college students may be even worse than other areas. College students applying for jobs and wanting to start a career have no ties or credibility built up with employers. Therefore, the employer is more inclined to refuse to hire an unvaccinated graduate than an established employee, especially with looming mandates for all businesses to require vaccination. In other words, a graduate’s qualifications, experience and preparation for his or her career means nothing without the vaccine. It will be almost impossible for graduating students to find a job without a vaccine, forcing them to go against their beliefs or even health concerns to receive a paycheck. Such actions border on discrimination— over something employers (federal or private) should not even have the permission to demand.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand admitted as much, affirming the implementation of a system with two separate classes of people and their rights dependent on vaccination status. The most troubling aspect is how U.S. leadership seems to agree with these sentiments. The news would have us believe it is only the “redneck Republicans” who are fighting vaccinations. Individuals in all fields, including healthcare, have reservations about vaccine mandates.

Unfortunately, America’s post-collegiate youth are so indebted and desperate for work, they are unlikely to have the resources to stand up for themselves and risk unemployment. This fact makes us more vulnerable to these totalitarian tactics. These mandates are bigger than individual will versus the government. They have macro-implications for society and the economy at large.In a time when the government should do everything it can to help the economy—meaning encouraging people to return to work—the government further frustrates the recovery process by forcing and threatening its citizens to comply. It seems officials who realize this are in states with the loosest vaccine protocols. These states currently have booming economic recovery, and large employment influxes even with the Delta variant.

Security of basic freedoms is paramount to the future success as a nation. A generation of workers could be severely upset if we lose our rights because of a vaccine. If COVID was unprecedented, then the reaction to it was just as unprecedented. The media propaganda and misinformation to drum up fear was unnecessary and distasteful. The fact is, those at highest risk can now been protected, so the rest of us should be left alone.