I thought the purpose of a candidate forum was to allow the public to learn about each candidate’s “business”. However, when unopposed candidate for City Council, Michael Carson, was asked about his Covid vaccine status, he responded (to some applause) with a forceful “none of your business”. Really? Now we will endorse people in public positions who refuse to be accountable?

As of September 26, the national proportion of Covid cases caused by the highly-transmissible Delta variant was above 99%. Well over 90% of those hospitalized with Covid are unvaccinated. That is the population driving the pandemic. Response: “None of your business”?

I know who has worked hard to popularize this defiant attitude regarding accountability: Mr. “I refuse to show you my tax returns, answer questions about my sexual activities with women other than my wife, or discuss my agreements with certain foreign leaders” himself.

Yet, responsibility and accountability are the glue that holds peaceful, just, civilized society together. They are a commitment we make to each other in order to be able to lead a decent life. Holding people to that commitment is the basis of our system of criminal justice because violating that social contract is the ideology of the mafia and other criminal entities.

The police pull over a car exhibiting unusual driving behavior and ask the driver if he/she has been drinking or using drugs and the response is “none of your business”? Refusal to respond to that question in an accountable way gets your driver’s license suspended on the spot. Or how about the “none of your business” response from the following: Asking your child who comes home late after an evening out with friends what they were doing. Asking the school bus driver about their alcohol or drug use. Asking a potential romantic partner about their recent sexual activities or STD’s. Asking an applicant for an accounting job if they have ever been convicted of embezzlement. Asking your surgeon if they always wear a mask and scrub in before surgery.

When we stop being forthright and accountable to each other is when society descends into mistrust, anger, anarchy, and chaos. Be careful about prioritizing your perceived personal “rights” over your responsibility to others. It does not lead to a desirable place.

David Lenderts, M.D., Alamosa, CO