United States | News & Politics

Yes, it's the mandate in general.

taxes

Yes, to an extent. I find capitation/poll taxes especially unethical because they're unavoidable.

But most are avoidable, or at least structured in a way that targets heavier users of services (esp. vehicle and gas taxes). In a sense, I'm consenting to the tax by participating in the taxed activity, like income tax for earning income, or sales tax for buying/selling stuff, so it's not as bad as a completely non-voluntary tax. I find some taxes more distasteful than others, and the reasoning comes down to how reasonable avoidance is (e.g. income tax is impractical to avoid because even income from illegal activity is taxable).

That said, taxes are vastly preferable to forced labor because I can choose how to earn money to pay the tax, so my liberty is in-tact. Forced labor limits my basic freedoms, and to me that is unacceptable without consent. Being "military" makes it worse because they could theoretically be forced to fight, but any form of forced labor is unethical in my mind (including prison labor, unless it's voluntary).

Is mandatory schooling unethical?

Mandatory public schooling is unethical. If parents can choose how their child is educated (home school, private school, etc) and the children only need to pass certain tests to prove proficiency, then I'm fine with it. But forcing someone to be in a classroom all day is unethical. Requirements are fine, but people need to be free in how they meet them.

I feel the same way about forced vaccinations, mask mandates, etc. I'm fine with vaccinations or masks being required for certain voluntary activities (e.g. attending a concert), but I'm absolutely against it for required activities (e.g. if you force children to attend public school, they cannot be forced to wear a mask or be vaccinated).

To be clear, my whole family is fully vaccinated (we all love vaccines), and we all wore masks in public and often in private, even when not required, when COVID-19 recommendations were in place. We think both are absolutely great ideas. But my state never had any form of vaccine or mask mandates for the general public (certain health personnel did have requirements IIRC), and kids were allowed to return to school or do remote learning in fall 2020 (schools were closed in March 2020 until the end of the school year until better data was available). I think that was the right call. The only times I showed my vax card were for boosters and crossing the border to Canada.

That's my take. In a free society, everything should be voluntary.