Reply To: Thoughts by Mark Lawrence Schrad. What takeaway do you see for DNP colleagues?

[HIERONIMUS E. SOLO]

Mr. Schrad,
This title had brought me here by sparking my interest in patriotism. Reading your article, it is clear that you are very biased and one sided in your point of view about this topic, biting the hand of those who fed you this freedom of expression and speech. Patriotism ideology was born thousands of years ago based on the Roman word “patria”, which is associated with the love of law and common good, from the people and for the people, sacrificing their own good for freedom to resist corruption and tyranny. Your idea of patriotism is driven from limited knowledge with poor interpretation of patriotism itself which is defensive in nature, blatantly confusing it with extreme nationalism. All of the occupations fore-mentioned are not new class heroes and have always been patriotic, just as patriotic as cops and military personnel. Although both are facing dangerous threats, equating the risk of fighting in a combat/war zone with traps, bullets, explosions, and less than adequate physical/mental welfare with the risk of fighting virus with less than 0.5% mortality rate is rather halfwitted and injudicious. I’m curious to know based on your standpoint, are the “doctors, nurses, pharmacists, teachers, caregivers, store clerks, utility workers, small business owners, and employees” still a true patriot that deserve a statue and corporate discount if they decide to make their own healthcare decision and refuse to be vaccinated because of overwhelming science that prove the presence of natural immunity, overwhelming number of infection even after receiving all shots and boosters, the lack of further study and short/long-term effect of the vaccine, or simply because they don’t feel the need to? If you do believe they are still heroes even without the vaccine, kindly use your platform to advocate against firing, discrimination, and loss of jobs and business of these heroes, especially those receiving martial law treatments in Canada currently. Furthermore, it is absurd to degrade the military to prove healthcare workers’ heroism, when both purpose is to serve, support, and strengthen the country. Your idea of improving healthcare while demilitarizing the country is comparable to cutting Samson’s hair; it is counterintuitive, illogical, and creating a weakness. I sure hope we can all continue to enjoy this freedom of speech and decision guaranteed by the constitution. Greetings from a nurse!