April 3, 2024 at 1:03 PM
Opinion Columns
EDE “I saw you in the newspaper.” A man cheerfully stops me on the street. “Nice piece. But you should have tackled them even harder about those diversions. Push in with a straight leg. Bam! That would I want to see more often.”
The man walks on and I muse and walk home. Sure. In this column I can go wild about – let me say something – the low vaccination rate among children in Ede. Even the AD recently wrote a piece about it. But do I really have a hard opinion about this? That people who don’t vaccinate their children are stupid? Or that those injections are total nonsense? To be honest? I just do not know.
No idea what the reasons are for Edean parents who do not have their children vaccinated. I have a suspicion, but I haven’t asked them. And I don’t know enough about vaccines to add anything scientific to this discussion.
FRUSTRATIONS
So then I should make my judgment with just a collection of assumptions, a bit of frustration or a round of Googling? Is that Real enough to tell you my truth?
If you ask me, it is already bursting with opinions around us. Scrolling through social media, watching TV or – just now – walking down the street. Unsolicited opinions can be found everywhere in the wild. And often they don’t add much.
Regarding the vaccination rate in our hometown: I assume that parents who make a choice about the life and body of their child think about this carefully. Consider all points of view, read up on the risks and then decide.
We also did that when we decided to give our daughter all the shots. And yes, the low vaccination rate certainly plays a role in that. Apparently there is a higher risk here that my daughter will contract mumps, measles or rubella. And we want to protect her from that.
RESPECTFUL
But that’s our choice. And if someone makes a different decision, they can work side by side. I don’t have to agree with an opinion to treat it respectfully.
That’s why no straight leg for you. Not in this column. And not in my real life either. But a helping hand. Let’s keep our mouths shut a little more often. Don’t have an opinion immediately. Just keep your legs on board. And ask questions more often. Really listen. And have a good conversation. Without that quick judgement. That would I want to see more often.
by Cynthia Lukassen
Want to read more columns on Ede Stad.nl? You will find them in this file.
