Return of measles is disturbing news

Re: Hamilton, Brantford to host booster clinics after measles exposures (March 1)

The return of measles, which can be deadly or leave serious sideeffects like deafness, reveals that a major portion of the population is unvaccinated, especially children.

As with COVID-19, those refusing vaccination on the basis of their democratic right of freedom ignore what democracy is about. Democracy indeed allows for freedom of ideas, speech, choice, movement, but equally, and the “no vaccines” crowd ignore it, is that these rights may not be exercised should they imperil other members of society or their rights.

You may think what you wish, but you may not spout hatred, not vocally nor in the media, nor in print, nor in blasting truck horns all night. You may not pull together enough fellow bigots to bring in voting regulations which deny the vote to fellow citizens, as we have witnessed in some U.S. states. You may not endanger the health of your fellow citizens; thus anti-pollution laws. Under freedom of choice, these non-thinkers are rejecting vaccination, a treatment to control an incredibly infectious disease which threatens all democratic rights, and because they continue to move about freely, they endanger the lives of fellow democratic citizens.

In practice, I reject autocracy totally, but recognize the sneakily cynical thought that tyrants have one advantage, they can enforce essentials. Unfortunately, they cannot enforce intelligence. Equally unfortunate, there is no vaccine for pig-headed stupidity. Dr. Helen Hatton, Hamilton