Re: "City of Airdrie implements mandatory vaccination policy for staff," article, Nov. 30, 2021, Airdrie City View
Dear editor,
To say that hypocrisy runs rampant in politics would be understatement.
By definition, hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behaviour or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behaviour does not conform.
Sound familiar? Hypocrisy in government was a mainstay in the pre-COVID era, with oaths of office deemed only necessary to complete an election process. Newly minted or status quo politicians solemnly swore to be honest and transparent arbiters of truth in exchange for a membership to an elite class to whom the rules of law and common decency do not apply.
Governmental hypocrisy in the COVID-era has been epic.
During the last two years of the two weeks needed to ‘flatten the curve,’ politicians and highly subsidized media outlets have been broadcasting the mantra, ‘We’re all in this together.’ We were told that every measure and inconsistently applied mandate – regardless of whether or not they were based on verifiable science – was put in place to keep us safe. There is ample evidence from highly qualified and moral sources that many of these measures caused more harm than good. This is hypocrisy.
We have all heard the phrase ‘Do as I say, not as I do.’ Politicians, high profile or not, seemed to set themselves above the non-laws they imposed on the little people. They thumbed their noses at mandatory masks, social distancing, and gathering non-laws. They violated mandated travel restrictions and quarantine regulations they ordered others to comply with. Many political violations were either minimized in the press or resulted in the stepping down or reshuffling of the violators. These violations were the actions of an elite class thinking they were too important to comply, that they were immune from any virus or variant, and the mandates applied to others.
According to comments made by City of Airdrie Chief Administrative Officer Paul Schulz in the Nov. 30, 2021 edition of the Airdrie City View, the policy of mandating that all City employees be vaccinated is an ‘administrative’ policy and does not apply to members of Airdrie City council. These mandates did not have to go through council before being passed. The article went on to state that Mayor Peter Brown has agreed ‘in principle’ to follow the same rules as administration but he could not speak to the vaccination status of all council members.
While it would be interesting to know exactly what ‘agreeing 'in principle' means, it would also be helpful to know how committed to everyone’s safety city council members are. To quote Mayor Brown, “I’ve agreed in principle to follow the same policies as administration” and “Obviously, we interact here and the health and safety of our people, our residents, and members of the public is paramount”.
It has become abundantly clear that we are entering a new phase of segregation between the never fully vaccinated, those that question the violation of bodily autonomy under debatable circumstances, and those that continue to demand compliance from all parties except themselves.
Are we really all in this together?
Al Neitsch
Windsong Heights
