Your Freedom Of Choice Is At Stake | Vaccine Mandates

It deserves a response when a worker is forced to do something against their religious/moral/ethical/convictions. Denying anyone their freedom of choice impacts on business/individuals/society.

Dear business owner

Today, I am addressing you on the severe erosion of the most fundamental freedom of all freedoms – the freedom of choice.

The forceful introduction of a particular treatment, for a global health hazard, under the pretence to protect us, is currently a dominant global predicament.

However, in this message I will not deal with the merit of this treatment.

What is at stake here, is the very serious matter of denying people, among them millions of workers, worldwide, their basic human right to form their own opinion and to take a decision for themselves on this matter.

I speak to you in my capacity as a representative of a large, organised business constituency. Incidentally, within this constituency, less than 0.1% of businesses, less than one in a thousand, has adopted this approach.

The fact that a few very big corporates have opted to implement a compulsory approach, and in doing so, through their example, have led other businesses on this mistaken path, demands this response.

Any approach where, under a business owner’s care, a worker is forced to do something that goes against that worker’s religious, moral, or ethical conviction, is unethical. It is a betrayal of the trust that the worker is supposed to have in the business owner, the guardian of the employment relationship. This is simply wrong.

Businesses are supposed to treasure the attributes of strong opinion and integrity of workers, and not suppress it.

The impact of denying workers, or anyone else for that matter, their freedom of choice, will turn out to be disastrous, not only for the business or the worker, but also for society. It will set society, all societies, on a path which will eventually undermine all freedoms.

Can you imagine a society where this kind of intolerance prevails? Is this not the type of intolerance which is typical of dictatorial dispensations? Do we really want to tolerate, in any shape or form, such a dispensation?

In all questions of life, big or small, every individual must ask him-/herself the question: ‘Is this right?’

This is fundamental in the all-important matter of character and integrity. Every individual has to be true to him-/herself. And disobeying the call of conscience, is a most fundamental offense; it is a sin towards oneself.

As a business owner, the guardian of the work environment, you cannot deny workers this most fundamental right, this personal obligation - to be true to themselves.

This issue is currently causing huge division in society, in business, between businesses, between employers and employees, and even in families. This plays perfectly into the hands of those who want to divide and divert attention away from the real issues that severely undermine societal stability.

I wish to remind, not only every individual affected by this, but also businesses which will in future be subjected to institutionalised bullying, of an important personal leadership principle: “Stand up to bullies”.

We are faced with a fundamental test to our society: our response will indicate the extent to which we value our freedom and will illustrate to what extent we are prepared to fight for the sake of our freedom.

A person who does not value freedom, and is not prepared to fight for freedom, does not deserve freedom. It’s easy to lose it, but extremely hard to regain it.