The New York Times ran a similarly themed opinion piece a few weeks earlier with this headline, "Meet the Four Kinds of People Holding Us Back." So did The Washington Post — only harsher in tone: "I'm tired of being nice to vaccine refusers," the writer complained just a few days ago.

The message is clear: The unvaccinated are to blame. The oft-unstated message, though, is just as clear, at least for those paying attention: America's pesky penchant for individualism is to blame.

After all, a country steeped in collectivism wouldn't have this problem — wouldn't have to deal with naysayers, with doubting Thomases, with critical thinkers and questioning pains in the you-know-what, with rebels both with and without causes. A country that takes its marching orders from government, filled with citizens who are trained from Day One to rely on, even pine for, dictates from their political overlords — a country like that filled with citizens like this simply obeys. They take the COVID-19 shot. They take the shot and move on, and nary a complaint is heard. Perhaps they're afraid of disappearing into the good night; perhaps they're afraid of being arrested or shot; but in the end, no matter the reason, nary a complaint is heard.

The good for the country is achieved.