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In December 2020, shortly after his contentious election victory, Joe Biden was asked whether he would try and make coronavirus vaccines mandatory: “No, I don’t think it should be mandatory,” he replied. “I wouldn’t demand it be mandatory.” This position has since been echoed by both White House press secretary and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rochelle Walensky.
In an obvious attempt to distract from the catastrophe he has caused in Afghanistan, Biden is now seeking to shift attention back to the pandemic. On Thusday, Biden announced a flagrantly unconstitutional mandate forcing all federal workers and around 80 million employees of private companies to get the jab.
Under the bizarre plan, companies employing more than 100 people must force their employees to either get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. The latter is a process so expensive that most employers will be left with no option but to mandate the injection.
As well as the mandate being well beyond his constitutional powers, leading to a flurry of lawsuis from states across the country, the plan will likely lead to unimaginable chaos that risks tearing apart the fabric of society. Opposition to the plan is so vehement that many have already pledged to take up arms before allowing the government to vaccinate them against their will.
Whether the vaccine is safe and effective is not the point. The real issue is whether we want to live in a country where Joe Biden can unilaterally force people into the false choice of being injected with a medical compound against their will or lose their livelihood. The government of United Kingdom, America’s greatest ally, have already backed down on a similar proposal over fears of the backlash.
Some Republican leaders have described the mandate as a form of “tyranny” while others have even called for civil disobedience. “If he has the ability to unilaterally do this, then there is no limit on the powers of the presidency,” said Mississipi Governor Tate Reeves. “That’s not called a true democracy. That is tyranny — and we do not want that in America.”
“Do not comply with the mandates. Do not pay the government fines. Don’t allow yourself to be bullied & controlled,” added JD Vance, the Republican Senatorial hopeful from Ohio. “Only mass civil disobedience will save us from Joe Biden’s naked authoritarianism.” Vance also accused Biden of treating Americans as “nothing more than vermin” before labelling him a “geriatric tyrant.”
The stark reality of the situation was best expressed by the satirical pro-Trump Twitter account Catturd, who wrote: “The worst part about 15 days to flatten the curve … is the part where 500 days later a tyrannical government forces you to take medicine you don’t want or they’ll get you fired so you can’t feed your family.”
These kind of statements should not be taken lightly. In a country whose citizens have freedom hardwired in their DNA, such mandates risk tipping society into anarchy. The violent protests over the last year, ranging from the Black Lives Matter riots to the January 6th uprising, are testament to how febrile America’s political climate currently is.
The only thing that now stands between this potential breakdown of civil society are courts, most importantly the Supreme Court itself. Trump’s greatest legacy are the three justices apopinted under his presidency. Now is the time for them to step in before it is too late.
Ben Kew is English Editor of El American. He studied politics and modern languages at the University of Bristol where he developed a passion for the Americas and anti-communist movements. He previously worked as a national security correspondent for Breitbart News. He has also written for The Spectator, Spiked, PanAm Post, and The Independent
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Ben Kew es editor en inglés de El American. Estudió política y lenguas modernas en la Universidad de Bristol, donde desarrolló una pasión por las Américas y los movimientos anticomunistas. Anteriormente trabajó como corresponsal de seguridad nacional para Breitbart News. También ha escrito para The Spectator, Spiked, PanAm Post y The Independent.