My freedom vs. your life: Talking points on hot-button issues center on personal choice - The Dallas Morning News

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We could run out of popcorn watching the movie of our lives.

I took a big bite of extra-butter flavor as I viewed a recent news report. A person was arguing vigorously at a school board meeting that their child’s personal freedom was being abused. They were angry because the board wanted to mandate that students wear a mask in the building to protect against COVID-19.

Another news report showed workers carrying signs reading “My body, my choice” to protest their employer’s mandate that they get the coronavirus vaccine or get fired.

Wait! Isn’t “My body, my choice” the same argument that advocates of abortion rights have stressed for decades, saying that anti-abortion laws block their freedom to control their own bodies?

Those who believe a woman should have freedom to choose what happens to her body call it freedom of choice.

Those who believe in “the sanctity of life” argue that the life of the unborn fetus is more important and must be protected.

Abortion and mask-mandate debaters share the same talking points. Pro-maskers say they want to protect their lives against the deadly virus. Those against abortion say they want to protect the life of the unborn child.

Those against wearing masks say they want to protect their personal freedom against government mandates ruling their body. People in favor of abortion rights say they want to protect women’s right to choose what happens to their bodies.

So, which is it?

These shrill Hatfield-McCoy feuds join a long list of battles over personal freedom that keep us in the boxing ring throwing punches. And you might say the abortion and mask-wearing arguments both could involve a life-or-death decision.

One person says, “I want you to wear a mask to save my life from a deadly airborne virus.” The other person says, “It’s my right of personal freedom to choose not to wear a mask.” Another person says, “I want to prevent abortion to save an unborn life.” Yet another says, “I must maintain control of what I do with my own body.”

How have we resolved similar conflicts in the past? Here are some contentious topics that, despite debate, led to policies or laws in some or all states: wearing seatbelts and motorcycle helmets, needing a license to drive and a passport to travel abroad, immunizing schoolchildren, smoking in public buildings, paying taxes — the list goes on and on.

Often, such differences are resolved by public vote. So, should we vote on mask wearing and coronavirus vaccines? The voting booth could determine whether the best solution wins.

ABOUT TOWN: Dallas is among the cities conducting projects to remember post-Reconstruction victims of lynching and racial injustice. The Dallas County Justice Initiative and Remembering Black Dallas are key local nonprofit sponsors partnering with the main national group, the Equal Justice Initiative. Lawyer, law professor, activist and writer Bryan Stevenson founded and directs EJI and wrote the recognized memoir Just Mercy that became a movie starring Michael B. Jordan.

The DCJI has been holding various commemorations for local victims in Dallas history. The group will dedicate a state historical marker and hear speakers from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 20 at the corner of Main and Akard streets. Allen Brooks, a descendant of enslaved Africans, was murdered then lynched and burned there in 1910 from the historic Elks Arch, which was moved from that spot the next year. The travesty was photographed and distributed on postcards for years.

To learn more about the dedication, visit dallascji.org, email dallascji@yahoo.com or call 469-399-6242.

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My freedom vs. your life: Talking points on hot-button issues center on personal choice - The Dallas Morning News
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