ER worker argues freedom, too

I’M NOT anti-mask or anti-vaccine. But is “being safe” the only goal of our state? And if it is, what happens to personal freedom? Or the checks and balances in government? Or basic respect for individuals who don’t agree with the majority?

A statewide vaccine mandate for hospital workers was imposed on New Mexico (effective Aug. 20). It seems like a good idea. Everyone is just safer, right? Maybe. Maybe not.

But if we as a state allow this to stand unchallenged, we have certainly demonstrated our willingness to sacrifice the freedoms and rights of others so we can feel “safer.” We have rejected the checks and balances of our Constitution in preference of an autocrat who can target specific groups of people. And we have removed something Americans have held as a sacred trust since the beginning: The minority’s opinion matters and they should have a right to express and hold that opinion without oppression. Do we still believe these things? I pray we do. But if we don’t, please know I have considered it a privilege to spend my entire health-care career in New Mexico, serving communities I love and respect. It has been my honor to put my — and my family’s — health and life on the line full-time in the emergency department during these COVID years. And if that does not prove how much I care about New Mexico, there is no evidence that I can provide and this state has lost its enchantment for me.

ALISHA PLUMMER

Rio Rancho