To the Editor,

Richard J. August's December 23 letter, "Giving up our liberties bit by bit" makes the claim that the various mask and vaccine mandates issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic represent a loss of "liberty and personal freedoms." He attempts to lend this loss tragic weight by citing the "many who came before [and] sacrificed and died," ostensibly to preserve Mr. August's "freedom" to disregard public health measures.

I would be the last person to claim that the actions and decisions of our public officials in response to the pandemic have been brilliant in every instance. But this business of bemoaning the public health mandates as a loss of personal freedom is just tedious, because it is so baldly hypocritical. The list of personal freedoms that we all--including, I am quite sure, Mr. August--freely and voluntarily give up in order to have a government and to live together in a civilized society rather than anarchy is very long. Giving up the freedom to arbitrarily run red lights is example enough. 

This is not a serious position, and should not be taken seriously. 

David Baldwin

Cranston