With the Supreme Court on the verge of deciding one of its most consequential decisions ever with regard to OSHA and CMS vaccines mandates, Americans are fast approaching a tipping point that might require us all to make some difficult decisions. 

On the one hand, if the Court upholds the mandates, millions will be forced to inoculate or forced into poverty.  Will we go silently into that dark night, or we will resist?  What will that resistance look like?  What will the Marxist authoritarians do to enforce these mandates — apart from forcing us out of our jobs.  Impose fines?  Incarcerate us?  With jails across the country emptying out as radical district attorneys refuse to enforce the law, will there be enough room to accommodate the millions who resist?  If not, what kind of facilities will be erected to house the unvaccinated?  Will mayors and governors take executive action, or legislatures enact laws, that allow government agents to vaccinate us against our will (which might entail "making us more compliant and willing to cooperate" with medication)?

Sounds like a dystopian novel or sci-fi flick, but if the highest court of the land doesn't see the glaring violation of our inalienable rights, this isn't that far-fetched, and We the People will be on our own.

Waiting until the 2022 elections are over in the hopes that Republicans win is not the best solution.  First, we might not win.  If we do, the majority might not be robust enough.  In any case, we can never be sure Republicans in the majority will vote as a unified party.  Even if they present a solid bloc, after their repeated failures in repealing Obamacare and providing alternatives that they had over eight years to prepare for, how can we ever trust Republicans to follow through on any legislation to combat vaccine mandates?

There is much the Congress could do in clarifying the very muddy waters of public health law — such as repealing vaccine mandates already in place; defining the exact circumstances in the case of a national emergency that threatens national security, where the federal government can preempt 100+ years of clear precedent that states have police powers in regulating public health; or maybe going so far as to lay out constitutional guidelines the states should follow in balancing compelling state interests in quarantines/lockdowns/mask or vaccine mandates against the rights of individuals to make their own health decisions and freely exercise their First Amendment liberties — especially in the context of new medical technology that hasn't been fully vetted.

On the other hand, if the Court grants the stay, effectively taking the teeth out of the mandates, it still ain't over.  Democrats might ignore the decision.  They'll likely work on other workarounds.  But, of even greater concern, will a denial of the mandates on federalism grounds (confirming that mandates fall within the police powers not of the federal government, but of the states), empower blue states to take even more drastic measures? 

If so, the broader constitutional issues that affect us as individuals — fundamental rights to life, liberty, and property — as opposed to federalism squabbles, will become even more pressing.  Can a state deny us our means of survival in terms of a job?  Or fine us so much money for lack of compliance that we have no choice but to comply?  Or punish us in other ways, like withholding our Social Security payments or Medicare? 

It's not that hard to imagine such wicked behavior by an administration, as we now have (for the second time) the Biden administration controlling and limiting the supply of monoclonal antibodies to Floridians. 

In an ideal world, a SCOTUS ruling against the mandates would cause the entire house of COVID mandates to collapse.  I pray for that.  But a taste of power can be intoxicating and hard to give up.  When it comes to COVID, Democrats are like a dog with a bone.

We must be prepared for any contingency and, above all, be prepared to stand together and stand up for each other.  We have no power as individuals, but we do in large numbers. 

Moreover, law enforcement personnel, national guardsmen, and military members will have to choose sides:  blindly enforce what you know in your heart is wrong, freedom-crushing, and outright un-American?  Or refuse to comply even if that means you lose your job? 

We've all seen the videos of cops dragging unmasked parents from their kids' outdoor sporting events or berating a five-year-old for not wearing a mask at a Manhattan restaurant.  Do you want to be that guy or our heroes?

And what about you doctors, the majority of whom took leave of your senses, forgot about your oaths, lost your cojones, and abandoned your patients?  What will you do with patients who refuse to get vaccinated?  Betray them and turn them in?  What if authorities threaten your license — will you kowtow to save your own butt and allow medical procedures to be forced on unwilling patients?  Has COVID Fear so infected your rational brain that you are willing to defenestrate informed consent and return to a time when, without any informed consent, black males with syphilis were studied and not treated with penicillin? 

If you think I'm exaggerating, let's not forget that doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies denied us the right to try alternative COVID treatments like hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, and the president is currently controlling the supply of and restricting monoclonal antibody treatments!

None of us ever anticipated battling this kind of enemy from within — being jailed indefinitely for exercising our First Amendment rights or being investigated by federal agencies for standing up to school boards.  None of us could ever imagine the government monitoring the social media accounts of our soldiers. 

None of us wants to lose a job or choose between respecting and carrying out the wishes of our superiors, and honoring our freedoms and fellow citizens by standing up to those superiors. 

The people we should model ourselves after are the police officers, health care workers, and members of the military who have stood up to their superiors for what they know is wrong and didn't forget about the little guy. 

If the Supreme Court lets us down, remember Obama's mantra: "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

If we don't do our part to stop the madness, government will be unrestrained in doing just about anything in the interest of public health, and free will, as we know it, will cease to exist.  No joke. 

Photo credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 license.