Ain’t Skeered of COVID-19? Try this on for size.

Let’s pretend that you’re an “anti-vaxxer,” that for whatever insane reason, you’re not going to ever receive any FREE COVID-19 vaccination.

Let’s also pretend that you get infected with COVID-19.

And, we’ll further pretend that because of the infection, you get really, really, really sick — as in “intubated in the ICU” sick.

Should you even be there? Should you even be treated, or cared for? Should anyone have mercy upon you because you made the decision to NOT receive (reject) a FREE vaccine? After all, you’re just wasting oxygen, and taking up space.

Shouldn’t the resources that are being expended upon you, and your care (because you didn’t care enough to get vaccinated), be expended upon others who did? After all, you made the conscious decision to NOT care enough about yourself, or others, to get vaccinated.

Freedom is not, nor has it ever been, an “I’ll do what I want, where I want, when I want, how I want, because I can” type of proposition.

You see, freedom has responsibilities.

In practice, that means you can’t yell “FIRE!” in a crowded theater, you can’t drive 80mph in a 15mph school zone, you can’t carry a gun to school, you can’t break in front of the line at the grocery store (or, anywhere else), you can’t run red lights or stop signs, you can’t just do what you want, where you want, when you want, how you want, because you can. To do so is either illegal (contrary to law), or opposed to social order and custom (politeness, respect, and courtesy).

Amy Coney Barrett as Hannibal Lector — Remember the fictitious character Hannibal Lector (played by Anthony Hopkins) from the motion picture “The Silence of the Lambs,” and series, and how a “spit mask” was applied to his face? Even that couldn’t stop him from spitting if he chose to do so. The mask merely prevented his spittle from contaminating others nearby. But the thing was, it was applied upon him because he purposely did not exercise good social graces or self-restraint.

Suppose someone wanted to spit in your face.

Realistically, there’s nothing preventing anyone from doing just that. At any time, anywhere, anyone could just come up to you and spit a giant stinking wad in your face… just because they felt like doing it.

And, who prevented them? No one. Not even you.

Is that act illegal? Quite likely, yes. Is that act disgraceful? Unquestionably, yes. Would you hit or begin to fight them? That remains to be seen, and depends upon how “short a fuse” you have. Should you notify authorities? Absolutely, yes.

But again, the point is, there’s nothing but self restraint and social graces preventing people from spitting in your face. And the same applies to you. Nothing but self restraint and social graces are preventing you from spitting in someone’s face.

There’s a legal concept called “contributory negligence,” which in essence refers to a person’s deliberate actions to disregard their own well-being. It applies in the instance in which a person is injured — you, for example — and deliberately chose to ignore good sense to preserve their well-being or safety, and as a direct result of their negligent actions, became injured.

Think of it this way: You’re walking, and approach a busy intersection, and decide to cross without looking both ways, or waiting for a signal indicating it was safe to cross.

You get hit by a car.

It’s your own fault — contributory negligence — because you deliberately failed to exercise good sense and look both ways before crossing, or failed to wait until it was safe to cross. You had a responsibility to yourself FIRST, and then to others, and you failed to exercise good sense to protect yourself FIRST. By your negligence, YOU contributed to YOUR own injury.

Again, YOUR injury is YOUR fault because of YOUR failure.

And because YOU failed to exercise good sense, YOU CANNOT file suit claiming that YOU were harmed by the driver who hit YOU.

Sorry, Charlie.

YOU failed yourself FIRST.

Why did you do that?

Stupidity, perhaps?

Or, maybe it was because you’re free, and this is America, where nobody can force you do anything, and you just wanted to “exercise your freedom”?

Again… sorry, Charlie.

That dog won’t hunt.

So, if because you chose to NOT receive a FREE vaccine, and got infected with COVID-19, on one hand, you’re in luck, because a law — the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA), passed as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1986, ensures public access to emergency services regardless of anyone’s ability to pay — gives you a RIGHT to be treated. Just show up in the Emergency Department, and voila! You’re in like Flynn. Bada-boom, bada-BING! Oxygen, medicines, treatments, a team of doctors & Nurses, respiratory therapists, diagnostic imaging, ICU care… the whole 9 yards, is ALL coming your way, because of the 1986 EMTALA.

But, on the other hand, your insurance company could stiff you… if you have health insurance, that is — by refusing to pay. They specialize in doing that — “stiffing” people (not paying for services rendered), that is. After all, that (not paying) is a significant part of how they make an exorbitant profit off your healthcare insurance premiums.

So THEY could sue, or cite YOU for “contributory neglect,” and thereby not only fail to pay for your injuries, but wipe you out financially, leaving you STUCK WITH THE BILL, in which case the hospital would go after YOU because it’s “uncompensated care,” meaning care that was given, but not paid for (a type of theft) — theft of services.

And now, you’re a deadbeat thief, and looking at jail, or worse, prison.

How about THEM apples, eh?

Don’t think it’s far-fetched.

It happens with GREAT regularity — you just don’t hear about it, even though there are stories every now and then about such matters.

In Memphis, TN, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare — a Christian not-for-profit hospital system — filed 8,300 lawsuits for unpaid medical bills in just five years, including against their OWN low-wage employees.

So now that this matter has been all blown up into its proper proportion, “all of a sudden,” it’s become the “Giant that Ate Cincinnati,” and is touching upon several seemingly unrelated matters, all of which are very costly, individually, economically, socially, to you, and to society, to businesses, and to government.

It’s time to seriously examine our entire healthcare system — top-to-bottom, side-to-side, inside-and-out — and if necessary, redesign it “from the ground up.”

In the meantime, do YOUR patriotic part… get a vaccine, wear a mask.

Hopefully, it won’t go on for too much longer.