Opinion

March 10, 2020: The start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was Purim Day. At that time, we had no clue what was going to be coming our way for the next 15 months and counting. It’s true that there were some communities that saw the effects of COVID prior to Purim, and others that would not see the effects until a week or two later, but that was the day that many, especially in our communities, remember the pandemic starting.

Messaging is possibly the most important factor into swaying the public to one side of a political issue. Even if one side is clearly in the right, it can be defeated by a good message that counters the narrative just by its effective use of rhetoric. This is obvious. Messaging matters. It’s why the Biden administration is packaging its new “American Jobs Plan” as an infrastructure plan. While there are many infrastructure-related items in it, the bulk of the cost goes to things that historically have not been considered “infrastructure.” They are simply trying to change the definition of “infrastructure” to incorporate a bunch of other agenda items because infrastructure is something that tests well with both Democrats and Republicans.

Of all the promises President Biden made during the 2020 presidential campaign, none were more important for the fabric of the nation than the promise to unite the country. Once he had won the presidency, Biden reiterated this promise. “I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but to unify,” Biden said in his November 7 victory speech, “who doesn’t see red states and blue states - only sees the United States.” Throughout the campaign, the former Vice President looked to contrast his message of unity with President Trump’s extremely divisive four years in office.

It’s a question we have been dealing with for close to three months now: What was the point of the vaccine if I am not able to resume my regular life once I am two weeks past my final dose?

If you identify as a liberal, you probably looked at the headline to this article and thought “all of them,” or “how do you pick?” Well, the points you’re about to read clearly aren’t for you. The point of this exercise is to examine the points constantly made by conservatives (both pundits and average Joes alike) that do not accomplish their goals. It is my hope that these arguments will stop being used in debates.

 We are now three months into the largest vaccination campaign in history, both on a national and global scale. And since we live in a time where we can’t seem to agree on anything – even how to rescue humanity from a global pandemic – there have predictably been a lot of opinions about how we should “deal” with those who choose to not get the COVID vaccine.