Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don’t 

“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” – Pope John Paul II

My reverence for personal freedom above almost every other social value prompts me to be suspicious of any law or regulation that limits individual liberty.

Thus, I much prefer Florida’s response to the COVID epidemic over New York’s. (And in terms of keeping COVID-caused deaths to a minimum, as I’ve pointed out several times, Florida has done as well as, or better than, the states that imposed Draconian measures.)

Likewise, I don’t like the idea of vaccine passports.

But sometimes, in our daily lives, we make decisions that do not entirely correspond to our grandest ideas and intellectual orientations. I’m not talking about hypocrisy (although a good topic) but compromise.

Here’s the dilemma:

For a year now, the monthly meetings of my book club (The Mules) have been conducted via Zoom.

It’s been an okay experience. But we would all prefer to get back to having the meetings at my Cigar Club, where I served food and drink and where, after the meeting, some could linger for a smoke.

I am happy to get back to hosting the meetings. But today, I received a note from our unofficial president suggesting that I should make the in-person meetings at the Cigar Club open only to members that have been vaccinated.

Hmm…

We are about 15 people, of which 9 are my age (70s), a few are in their 60s, and a few are younger. About half of the old guys have “comorbidity” issues – and they are all about taking every possible precaution. So if I don’t impose a vaccination requirement, they won’t feel comfortable if they decide to come.

Meanwhile, two of the younger guys are anti-vaxxers. So if I do impose a vaccination requirement, they won’t be able to come and will have to decide whether or not to attend on Zoom.

What should I do?

And who am I to force them to make these “choices”?