Update – My Letter of Exemption

Update to Original Post

The following was written and scheduled to appear on Sojournal today. Since being written, section 7A of the recent order which allowed for exemptions in a fairly broad way has been revoked. Another day, another law change around here. This government has lost legitimacy.

GUEST POST – Scott Kennedy

I’ve been trying to get an exemption from the current vaccine mandates in order to be able to continue doing the job I love. Exemptions according to the recent law can be given by suitably qualified health practitioners for ‘physical or other needs‘. Unfortunately, many GPs and health practitioners are running scared as governing bodies threaten and attempt to coerce them into refusing to grant exemptions despite the fact that the law clearly allows them to do so. Then we had Chris Hipkins making up law on the fly saying that exemptions that have been granted do not count and that there will be one central exemption process and everyone will need to follow it. Again this is not what the current law requires. Handily for the government, this centralised system comes into effect for health and education workers on the same day they are required to have had their first vaccination. How convenient. I am pushing ahead trying to gain an exemption under the current law anyway. I’ve come up against a few roadblocks thus far, but will continue to seek one. My latest attempt is to write a letter explaining my religious convictions and present this to a health practitioner. Seems a bit strange considering I am more qualified than most health practitioners I know on matters theology, but there you go!

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Freedom!!!!!!!

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I was reading a few things recently and came to understand something from a new perspective.

In the current situation sometimes I will hear someone say or imply that people wanting their freedoms are just being selfish. They are just fighting for their own freedoms. But I don’t think this is actually true.

I believe that when someone fights for freedom, whether they know it or not, they are actually fighting for freedom for everyone.

In Ethan’s post “Lessons from the Gulags” there is a very interesting quote from Alexander Solzhenitsyn:

From that point of view our torturers have been punished most horribly of all: they are turning into swine, they are departing downward from humanity.

You can usually see the impact of the loss of freedom on the oppressed person quite easily. But what’s easy to miss is the impact this has on the oppressor. As Solzhenitsyn states, when you look at the soul, they receive punishment most of all.

In the Guest Post “Vaccine Mandates – A Small Business Perspective” there is a closing quote from Rosa Parks:

I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.

Rosa Parks fought for freedom for herself. She also fought for freedom for black Americans.

But what did she, and others, actually gain?… Freedom for the whole of America.

Rosa may not have intended to include those who oppressed her in the group of “others” she was wanting to be free. But in regard to the “soul” of America, that is exactly what she helped to achieve.

How’s That Line in the Sand Going?

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GUEST POST – Scott Kennedy

It’s been over a week now since I went public with the article “My Line in the Sand”. What a rollercoaster ride! In this time I’ve been inundated with messages some supporting my line in the sand, some suggesting I smooth over the sand and choose a new location for the line, and others questioning my character, sanity and motivations. So in this piece I will share my reflections on the reaction to my article.

The Positives

Firstly let me reflect on some of the positives. A highlight for me has been realising I am not alone. There are a lot of us out there. Never before in my life have I received so many encouraging messages about what I am doing most of them from complete strangers. Thank you to all of you who shared messages of support. Our family was blown away with the support and humbled to see the care and concern of many for our plight, and the plight of many good citizens in New Zealand.

A number of supporters have been extremely generous. There have been suggestions and practical tips to help deal with stress and anxiety (thanks Juana from The BFD), multiple offers of financial assistance should we require it, offers of a holiday spot for the family this summer, offers of work, offers of help setting up a small business and many new contacts and alliances formed. Frankly, I’ve been astounded by the love and generosity of these people many of whom have come from the Christian community, and most who do not know me personally.

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Holding Us to Ransom?

In the past few weeks, I have begun to hear the phase ‘holding us to ransom’ a lot more frequently. Specifically, it is the unvaccinated who are apparently holding the country to ransom. Really?

Let’s imagine a scenario where a terrorist grabs two teenage children of wealthy elites and asks for a ransom from both sets of parents before he will release them. The parents of one immediately pay the ransom, and the other set, not so sure that paying the ransom will in fact lead to the release of their child, refuse to pay. The parents who have paid the ransom then turn on the other more suspicious parents and say, “Stop holding us to ransom!” While I can understand their frustration, it is in fact the terrorist who has held them to ransom. Not paying the ransom is not equivalent to holding someone to ransom.

In my mind, it is actually many unvaccinated people who are being held to ransom. Those who are teachers or nurses are being told that unless they bow to the government’s wishes they will have no job. Others who have no vaccine mandates (yet) will be denied entry to restaurants, big events and churches. Not bowing to the government on this is not holding others to ransom. It’s refusing to pay the ransom. We don’t negotiate with terrorists!

Most unvaccinated people I have chatted with are happy for the government to open up society. They have made their choice based on their own risk-benefit analysis. They tend to be a lot more clued up on the stats than many who have just gone ahead and got vaccinated. It is not they who are holding us to ransom, but our government. Our government is threatening people with loss of livelihood and like the grinch is planning on stealing Christmas too unless we all bow to their demands. Don’t turn on your fellow prisoners. Remember who the real enemy is in all of this.

Vaccine Mandates – A Small Business Perspective

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The Sojournal asked, following Scott Kennedy’s post, if anyone else had their own experience to share, so I thought I may offer a few cents.

I must start by saying that I have a confession to make.

For quite a number of months now I have been struggling with the question of when it is time to take a stand. Without getting bogged down in the detail, I love freedom, and I believe we have God-given freedoms as image-bearers of God, that to some degree are covered by our Bill of Rights. But I also know that God is the ultimate authority that installs Governments and does so for our good. There are sometimes circumstances that require the government to use extreme measures and I do want to think well of the intention of my government, even where I disagree. There is a balance with these things, but with a balance, there is also a tipping point, or as Scott put it in his post, a “line in the sand”, where you no longer can sit back hoping for the best but have to start putting yourself into uncomfortable positions.

While thinking and struggling with this I was often reminded of the well-known quote by German Pastor Martin Niemoller:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

My confession is that I think I left it too late.

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Are you Affected by the Vaccine Mandates?

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As a result of our recent guest post, My Line in the Sand, we have been inundated with views and comments.

To follow up on this, we at The Sojournal, are trying to collect and publish stories from people who are affected by the COVID vaccine mandate. We are keen to publish respectful articles or videos that address your personal situation. If you wish to remain anonymous, that is fine too.

If you would like to be involved, please use the contact form and we will get back to you. If you know of someone affected, please alert them to our plans.

Let’s show our overlords that we are free and principled people.

My Line in the Sand

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GUEST POST – Scott Kennedy

I am not an emotional person. In the last 20 years of life, I believe I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I have wept. Not that I think this is a virtue, it just seems part of my temperament. But twice in the last week, I have been so upset – distraught even – that I have wept.

Vaccine mandates. Our government went back on its word and has issued a vaccine mandate for all teachers. This is my line in the sand. But drawing this line is crushing me for a number of reasons.

Firstly, I have worked as a teacher for a decade in a full-time capacity and many more years than that in part-time roles. I am totally invested in the school that I work for and have given my time, my energy and even my money to help that school thrive and flourish. While I am not perhaps the most inspiring, interesting or creative teacher, I love my students, and I think they know I am committed to them and desirous of their success. My ex-students keep in touch. This is the area of life that God has gifted me in. I can teach. I can’t build. I’m not physically strong. I’m not able to do techy things. I’m pretty ordinary really. But teaching I can do. And the government with one edict from their Lectern of Lies has taken my livelihood away from me.

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