Why Our Inner REBEL Matters!

🤬 𝐈 𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐎! 🤬

When someone tells me to do something, the first question I often think is: “Why?!” ⁉️

The inner rebel in me instinctively takes over in defense. 🛡️

“𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏?!” 😡

“𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆?!” 😡

“𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑴𝑬 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐?!” 😡

In a desire to assert my power, I’m quick to assume the worst intentions of the other person. In an instant, I’m ready to protect my desire to be free from the chains which possibly await me. ✊

Can you relate? ⬇️

👍 You don’t like being told what to do unless you feel respect for the other person?

👍 You don’t like being told what to do unless you feel you can trust the other person?

👍 You don’t like being told what to do unless you feel the other person treats you like a human being and not like an object?

If so, you’re not alone! I have felt the same way! 🙋‍♂️

But fortunately, these feelings of rebellion tend to be temporary. 🙂

Typically after a moment of self-restraint and introspection my emotions fall back on solid ground. 🙌

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 👤

I know he’s just doing his job to protect me from perceived threats. Like any natural instincts we have (Fight, Flight, and Freeze), they’re all just here to help us survive. If we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t be alive for very long! 😅

In other words: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐇𝐞’𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲.

But what happens when our inner rebel doesn’t go away? What happens when he overstays his welcome and takes control over everything we do? 👿

When untamed, how does our inner rebel handle situations he’s faced with? ⁉️

🤬 Perhaps he responds with cynicism.

🤬 Perhaps he responds with resentment.

🤬 Perhaps he responds with hostility or even violence.

Because if I know how stubborn my inner rebel is when being told what to do, I can’t imagine how hard it is for someone else dealing with an inner rebel they aren’t even aware of! 😬

But here’s the thing…𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨! 👍

Hear me out! 🛑

I’m NOT justifying violence. I’m NOT justifying people acting upon their inner rebels like this either. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 😨

A LOT has happened in the past year. We’ve all been experiencing a level of uncertainty and discomfort most of us would never think we’d become accustomed to. 💯

Not only have we experienced the effects of a global pandemic, something most of us have never experienced in our lifetime, it’s also happened during a time when our country has never been more politically divided (https://pewrsr.ch/3v9o6uK)! ⚔️

What should’ve been a moment in our country’s history to come together and fight this virus instead became a breeding ground for hysteria, denialism, and hypocrisy. What should’ve been a moment where effective leadership and cooperation in the highest positions of government was needed the most did not appear. 😔

So I get it. ❤️

THESE are just some of the reasons why I can’t blame people’s inner rebels for coming out of the woodwork lately and feeling the way they do.

⚠️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬; 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.

⚠️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬; 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

⚠️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 “𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲”; 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭.

To clarify, I am NOT placing all the blame on authority figures. I am NOT saying we as individual citizens don’t also have a responsibility for the choices we make. And I am NOT denying that misinformation, conspiracy theories, and scientific illiteracy hasn’t made it much more difficult for those in authority to communicate with the general public. It certainly has. 💯

🚨 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐲𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧: “𝐀 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥.” 🚨

My point is: your inner rebel is NOT crazy for feeling the way he feels! 🙌

It’s because I know my own inner rebel that I know shame, condescension, and ridicule from others isn’t going to settle him down. In fact, 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦.

🤬 𝐈 𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐎! 🤬

🤬 “RIGHT ON, DONALD! MY IMMUNE SYSTEM DOESN’T NEED ANY VACCINE!” 🤬

Well, actually…⬇️

Let’s take the example of a car. A car has a body and a set of car parts inside the body that makes it function. Indeed, the car has a greater chance of lasting longer the more maintenance that’s done on it like oil changes, rotating tires, and replacing brake pads. 🚗

But just because the car is in great shape doesn’t mean the car is completely immune from the environment. It may have a better chance of survival hitting a small animal, but there’s no guarantee the car’s going to survive hitting a tree head-on! 💥

Now, take this analogy and think of us. We each have a body and a set of parts inside our body that makes it function. Indeed, we have a greater chance of living longer the more maintenance we do on our bodies like eating healthy, exercising, and getting enough sleep. 😴

But just because our body is in great shape doesn’t mean our body is completely immune from the environment (or our genetics). It may have a better chance of survival with the common cold, but there’s no guarantee our body is going to survive being exposed to smallpox. 🤒

In other words: 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐚𝐥𝐥, as much as I’d NOT like to tell you this. 😔

There are MANY infectious diseases in the world which our immune systems are not sufficient to save our lives from, no matter how healthy we eat, how much we exercise, and how much positive thinking we do. 🙌

Don’t get me wrong, it can definitely help, but to assume our immune system works as a cure-all mechanism for everything lacks a bigger perspective. 🌎

💉 For those of us who have had the privilege to never experience or die from polio, an infectious disease which could render you paralyzed (Franklin Roosevelt being one of them)…we can thank vaccines for that.

💉 For those of us who have had the privilege to never experience or die from diphtheria, where gray matter covered up the back of your throat and your lymph nodes swelled up making it hard to breathe…we can thank vaccines for that.

💉 For those of us who have had the privilege to never experience or die from smallpox, an infectious disease where you would have lesions of blisters and puss all over your body…we can thank vaccines for that.

This disturbing photo was taken in the early 1900s of twins that contracted smallpox. The child on the left was unvaccinated; the child on the right vaccinated. The photo speaks for itself…

And what do all these infectious diseases have in common? ⬇️

They are very contagious. 👥

They can spread through airborne particles and droplets. 💦

And they have been practically eliminated in the US thanks to mass vaccination efforts. 🎉

The fact is, infectious diseases are NOT new to human history; 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬. 🙋‍♂️🙋

The fact is, anti-maskers are NOT new to human history either (e.g. Anti-Mask League of San Francisco during the 1918 pandemic); 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬. 🙋‍♂️🙋

And the less we remember about our history, the more likely we are to repeat it. ⌛

So if you’ve never heard of these diseases, I’m not surprised.

🚨 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥. 𝐈𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 “𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞” 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲.

𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞.

𝐓𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 “𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞” (https://bit.ly/3CEYhXI). 🚨

Again, I’m NOT saying there aren’t legitimate reasons for why people are hesitant to vaccinate. As I noted earlier, there’s been a multitude of problems which have exacerbated this issue, not the least of which has included authority figures. 👍

But on the flip side (and I’m going to be frank):

⚠️ 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞’𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬.

⚠️ 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞’𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝.

⚠️ 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞.

𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

We can’t have the freedom to drive unless we all agree to obey the traffic laws. We can’t have the freedom to be financially independent unless we all agree to pay taxes. We can’t have the freedom to do whatever we want unless we all agree to the same set of rules. 🙌

Whether we want to admit it or not, having our individual freedoms is dependent upon the actions of others.

🌟 Liberty without responsibility is chaos. 🌟

And for any of my friends reading this post whose inner rebel has come to the surface I can assure you…

I’m not here to tell you what to do. I’m not here to point a finger at you and say: “Shame!” All I’m sharing here is just a second opinion you are welcome to take and leave as much as you please. 😊

😡 “DONALD! WHAT’S YOUR POINT WITH ALL THIS?!” 😡

The whole point with me writing all this was to say: 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. 🙂

🙌 𝙄𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙊𝙍 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧; 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. 🙌

To provide one of my favorite phrases: Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

👮 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.

👩‍⚕️ 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞.

👤 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝.

So, it is with this nuanced perspective in mind that I did my own research, looked at the scientific studies with my own eyes, and came to the conclusions that I did around the COVID-19 vaccines. 👀

Because let me tell you: 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴! 💯

And best part is, I didn’t come to this conclusion because I blindly listened to some authority figures. 👤

I won’t! ❌

Why? Because we all need healthy skepticism in our lives. Because we all need to be open to multiple perspectives. 😁

Because, just like you…

🤬 𝐈 𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐎! 🤬

So I made the choice on my own! ❤️

“𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.”

~ Martin Luther King Jr. 💬

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