There’s a more obvious example still, of course. For a year now, Americans have been asked to make small sacrifices aimed at protecting public health: reducing unnecessary interactions, wearing face masks, getting vaccines to prevent the coronavirus. And for a year now, some section of Americans has said, “pass.” The idea that wearing a mask or getting vaccinated might be of benefit to someone else is often framed as being an unacceptable or offensive violation of personal sovereignty. U.S. senators shrug at the idea that you should care if your neighbor dies of the coronavirus. Other politicians make hay out of their opposition to mandated mask-wearing, using those mandates — themselves a function of the density of people who otherwise refuse to wear one — as a way to trumpet their liberty bona fides.

Source: Washington Post May 12, 2021 19:52 UTC