Choosing to die for your beliefs anytime in history, including during COVID-19


It's February of 2022, and since I enjoy TikTok (mostly the videos of happy dogs), I still see posts about people who have died from COVID-19. And the pattern is always the same - the videos start with screencaptures of the person's statements about why they're choosing not to get the vaccine, and it ends with their death. And the presenter inevitably says something like "What a waste", and I can tell that they're missing the point. I'll see if I can explain, using an historical context.

Being willing to die to stand by a belief system isn't anything new. And a belief system is something that isn't tangible, and can often look like nonsense to a non-believer. Most of the people I've ever known have had some type of belief system, or faith. To me, I find it unnecessary to believe in things that can't be proven empirically, but that's just me. Of course, I'm not alone in this, but I'm definitely in the minority. Most people hold beliefs, some strong, some weak.

Most of the people that I've ever known have had weak beliefs. That is, they may have faith in something that's intangible, but they won't literally die to defend that belief (which is as strong as you can get). They may dabble in their belief system, or "go through the motions", but to me it's never been anything that made me worry about them, the same way that I don't worry about people who have different interests, or hobbies, than I do.

Once you accept that someone is very serious about what they believe, in spite of the lack of any actual evidence, you understand martyrdom, including people like Sir Thomas More. I'm no expert on this, but I can think of many instances of people who have chosen death instead of rescinding their beliefs. And history has often honored them for it.

Speaking for myself, I'd prefer to not be burned at the stake for a belief system, but again, that's just the way I feel. People who are willing to walk into the fire with their eyes widen open, for an abstract belief, are amazing.

Don't get me wrong here, I wouldn't wish death on anyone, and certainly not suicide. But if someone feels so strongly about something that they're willing to die rather than back down on their beliefs, personally, I gotta respect them. To people on the outside, they're "drinking the kool aid", but to them it's a matter of principle that defends their belief system.

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