The OLD Philosopher – John M. Miller
Millions of Americans of all ages and classes still have not been vaccinated for COVID-19. There have been numerous articles or opinion pieces in numerous reliable news media which have suggested why that is the case. Most of these suggestions cite the aversion the anti-vaxxers think or feel regarding the vaccines.
But why are they opposed? It is because they believe the many false claims that have been made about the vaccines. And why do they believe that? It is because they distrust the sources which strongly recommend vaccinations as the only way to stop the spread of the virus in its various permutations. And why do they distrust those sources? It is because they are all associated with the federal government, and in the past twenty years there has been a growing antipathy to the federal government.
And why is that, you ask? It is because the anti-vaxxers are far more trusting of state governments than the national government. Therefore in general there has been a much higher incidence of COVID in red states than in blue states. And why is that? It is because governors in many of those states were also megaphones for the American anti-vax wave of misinformation. The governors also have a visceral antipathy to whatever comes out of Washington, DC.
From the time George W. Bush became president, many elected Republican officials and ordinary voters have become more and more cynical about a strong central government. They want the states to determine the policies by which we live, not the federal government.
And why do they want that? It is because fundamentally millions of Republicans have become either libertarians or anarchists --- or both at once.
Up until the election of Donald Trump in 2016, the federal government under the leadership of both parties had governed fairly well. When Trump and the Republicans took control, the entire pattern of American government took a drastic turn for the worse. Donald Trump is a “natural” libertarian and anarchist. He detests government in general, and the governments in Washington and in New York State in particular. He did nothing to endear himself to all the Members of Congress during his four years in office, but he particularly delighted in thrusting sharp sticks into Democrats’ eyes.
If the federal government says everyone should be vaccinated, the libertarian-anarchist Trumplicans refuse to follow the recommendations, because they are libertarians or anarchists. Most of the rank and file are unaware of what either of those two words even mean. Nevertheless, that is who they are, without ever understanding that is who they are. If Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy or Ron DeSantis tell them how to vote and what to do, they do it, because their leaders are clearly libertarians and anarchists, even if that is not at all clear to the rank and file, because the rank and file don’t know what “libertarian” or “anarchist” mean.
America is in the most dangerous dilemma we have faced since World War II and the Cold War because half our population has bought into anti-government politics without understanding that there are no valid reasons to be essentially anti-government. In truth, to be opposed to a strong federal government is to be opposed to a smoothly functioning civil society.
“Anarchy” comes from the Greek language, and it literally means “without rulers.” If there are no broadly accepted rulers by people of diverse backgrounds and opinions, every society will collapse, sooner or later. Until the Republican Party convinces its followers that Trumplican Republicanism is anathema (another Greek word), COVID shall continue to rage, and the USA shall continue to decline. COVID is a minor enemy compared to anarchists and libertarians.
- August 7, 2021
John Miller is Pastor of The Chapel Without Walls on Hilton Head Island, SC. More of his writings may be viewed at www.chapelwithoutwalls.org.