Cuba has great public health, but no freedom. The US has freedom, but not great public health. Denmark has both. What gives?
And can we untangle politics and public health? Should we even try?
Shortly after the first COVID-19 vaccines came out in late 2020, I had a conversation with the coordinator of an athletic program. She wanted to know when it would be safe for her to start scheduling games. In a sign of frustration, I told her that people were still dying. So, while she wondered when she could start sports again, I wondered when people would stop dying. And I told her this.
Not long after that conversation, I received an email from a local resident with nothing but a quote from Benjamin Franklin and a reference to not being able to play organized sports.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Although I’ve heard that quote before — primarily from far right activists — I have not fully understood it. I mean, I understand the sentiment that liberty should be above everything. What I don’t understand is the jump from giving all liberty up because you demanded “a little temporary safety.” Maybe some history and philosophy major will comment and help me understand.
