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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2022)
6 Wednesday, January 19, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Commentary... The Law of Suspects and civil death By Jim Cornelius Editor In Chief At the febrile height of the French Revolution 4 the political event that created the modern world 4 the General Council of the Paris Commune issued a kind of passport for citi- zens who could demonstrate that they were politically reliable: the certificat de civisme. Proof of civic virtue and political reliability was absolutely vital. Without a certificate, a citizen was <civilly dead.= They had no rights, they could not find legitimate employment, and they were subject to arrest. As the Reign of Terror accel- erated, civil death could easily become literal death under the falling blade of the guillotine. The Law of Suspects made not having a certificat de civisme a crime. * * * I have in my wallet a cer- tificate that says I9ve been vaccinated twice and boost- ered once against COVID- 19. I9m glad to be vaxxed 4 I think it9s the smart play: it9s clear that being vaxxed up helps prevent serious ill- ness, and choosing to vac- cinate has expanded my freedom, not constricted it. I feel like I9ve done what I can to protect myself and my family, and to boost the return of things that I value (live music in particular). It wasn9t a hard choice 4 the operative word being choice. In our own febrile cul- tural climate, that vax card feels uncomfortably like a certificat de civisme. I9m in favor of vacci- nation, and encourage my friends and loved ones to get it done. I am opposed to vac- cine mandates and passports, and the notion of creating categories of citizenship around vaccination status makes my skin crawl. The dangers are not speculative. There are seg- ments of European popula- tions that are <falling out of society= due to vaccination status. Last week, the Salt Lake City Tribune said the unvaccinated ought to be confined to their homes by the National Guard. That kind of thinking is not uncommon 4and no matter where you stand on the political spectrum, that should concern you. A lot. We are walking a very dangerous road. Compulsory <virtue= cannot be virtue at all 4 and it tills the soil and plants the seeds of repress- ion and terror. As a friend noted, when this this kind of <social credit= precedent is established, what comes next? Compulsory trade-in of your older, less environ- mentally friendly car? And what from there? The U.S. Supreme Court did the right thing in strik- ing down President Biden9s vaccine mandate for large businesses. It9s their job to push back against overreach and unaccountable govern- ment power, even when it9s ostensibly being exercised for <the greater good.= This pandemic will end. The broad precedent for the exer- cise of <emergency powers= will outlast it, and may ulti- mately itself be a contagious and dangerous virus. We must remember that the social contract that underpins modern civiliza- tion granted government a monopoly on violence, and all compulsory require- ments it makes are ultimately backed by the threat of vio- lence. As time has marched on, we have allowed its writ to run very wide. A couple of decades ago, when Congress passed the PATRIOT Act, some of my more right-leaning friends dismissed my concerns about putting unprecedented, unac- countable power in the hands of the federal government. They figured it was a neces- sary tool to combat foreign terrorists who had already wrought terrible destruction on the country. The Act9s provisions weren9t aimed at good citizens. <I have nothing to hide,= they asserted, <so I have nothing to worry about.= Now those same friends are aghast, witnessing the spectacle of parents angry at the conduct of their school board being branded <domestic terrorists= and threatened with federal investigation under that same PATRIOT Act. We never seem to learn that when we hand govern- ment a weapon 4 even to defend us in a crisis 4 that weapon can and almost inevitably will eventually be turned on us as citizens. The public health cri- sis of COVID-19 was and is real 4 but it is not para- noia to fear the grip of those who would exploit it in the classic political power grab, expressed in the determina- tion to <never let a crisis go to waste.= We need to stop view- ing the accretion of unac- countable and arbitrary power through a partisan lens, decrying authoritarian- ism when we see it on <their side= and turning a blind eye to it when it serves <our side.= Because unaccount- able and arbitrary power ultimately serves nothing and no one but itself 4 and we all fall under its sights. WHYCHUS: Participants will learn about restoration Continued from page 3 and massive restoration in recent years. Participants will learn about the removal of fish bar- riers, the restoration of Camp Polk Meadow, and restora- tion along the upper reaches of the creek above Sisters and through Rim Rock Ranch. Preregistration and pay- ment of a $25 pre-registration fee is required for the series. Contact Kolleen Miller at kmiller@restorethedeschutes. org to register or for more information. All presentations will be held at Sisters Library from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with a vir- tual attendance option: " February 15: Whychus Creek 101: Watershed Overview & History " March 1: Whychus Creek Hydrology & Water Use " March 15: Water Use & Conservation " April 5: Habitat Restoration & Native Fish " April 19: Climate Change & Glacier Health. 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