Following Matthew Syed’s article regarding fundamentalist religious founded terrorism, I was intrigued to understand the limits of freedom to cause harm, whether through assassination by gun or by lie.

My premise is, that though blowing people up is evil and obvious, antivaxrs for example, cause multiple deaths but in a less obvious and indirect way. Many of them claim that compulsary vaccination is a breach of civil rights.

As for the conspiracists and the snake oil brigade, then any wild assertion such as the establishment injecting poisons and chips (electronic) so that they can spy on us. Well, they are clearly fabricating harmful lies which influence the vulnerable and contribute to the spread of pandemics and multiple deaths.

The issue here is, causing the deaths of unknown humans is by any definition is wrong. However, the right wing lobby insists that vaccinations should be a free choice. They are aginst vaccination passports despite the well known fact that Corona virus kills.

Matthew Syed point is that we should recognise that terrorist attacks are very much driven by religion. That the terrorist who kowingly blow themselves up, really are driven by religious fervour. I agree with him.

What then drives the antivaxers, the freedom from government and the conspiracist lobbies? Their beliefs are in most cases firmly held. Many to a fundamental beleif that is unmoveable. They share that fundamental belief with their kind. Some refuse to acknowledge the immutable fact that pandemics kill. Others acknowledge the danger but are committed to the belief that freedom of choice is a fundamental and immutable right, even if it kills tens of thousands of people.

I might argue that killing is wrong either through religious fervour of obstinate defense of individual right. Is it their right to kill by denying fact, as witnessed by the millions of deaths around the world?

Do those who lead us politically, have the guts and gumption to see that sometimes there must be clear leadership? An ethical decision must surely be made to protect and defend all of us from proven danger. Terror and lies both kill, we should defend against both.