With mask mandates lifted in most states, many Americans are enjoying the return to what they believe is normal. But we are also seeing the true faces of those in power who seek to use sensitive medical information — like vaccination status — to oppress others.

Private companies, organizations, and educational institutions announce their plans as people return to the office and classrooms — some requiring proof of full COVID-19 vaccination before walking through their doors. Some businesses plan to even segregate the vaccinated from the unvaccinated.

Not getting the “jab” is the new Scarlet Letter. Once worn as a punitive mark to label someone as an adulterer based on the American novel bearing the same name, those who are open about their non-vaccinated status will be forced to exist on the fringes of society.

What’s even more insane is how some Americans are excited about this treatment of their fellow man, taking to social media to express how they refuse to eat in a restaurant next to someone who is unvaccinated. If vaccinated and unvaccinated versions of water fountains existed, people today wouldn’t even see what they actually resemble.

It’s not even about science anymore. It’s about control and an allegiance to certain ideas — possibly totalitarianism.

It was the Centers for Disease Control that supported masking and social-distancing mandates in the spring of 2020. Since then, the CDC has lifted those recommendations for people who are fully vaccinated. But still, we see hoards of people (even — or maybe especially — vaccinated folks) walking around with masks, double masks, and maintaining their six-foot bubble. It’s because this is comfortable for them, despite some very important considerations I’d like to review:

What does it mean to be fully vaccinated, anyway?

With new COVID variants making headlines and incidences of people still catching COVID after the jab (granted, a tiny fraction so far), many Americans don’t put much faith in a vaccination card. Like the mask, the “V” card only exists to ease fears and concerns of the anxious and unfortunately ignorant. Given the plethora of conflicting information so readily available out there, what are we supposed to believe?

Speaking of business, how will the vaccine status impact hiring practices?

There is a widespread pandemic emerging on the heels of COVID-19 as employers struggle to find workers. Thanks to the manufactured unemployment crisis made possible by President Joe Biden, companies are suffering and some stores have been forced to change their operating hours or even close altogether. But even still, some stores have the nerve to impose their own vaccination guidelines, requiring staff to be vaccinated to maintain employment. This can’t be wise considering the number of people who are fed up with masking and distancing. And with a government check being readily available, proof of vaccination could prove to be a fatal shot in the proverbial foot for an at-risk business.

What will this medical totalitarian state do to our children’s wellbeing?

We fought so hard to raise our kids in a free society only to teach them that it’s perfectly okay to discriminate based on a medical condition or status. Imagine the trauma that a school-aged child will experience when other kids refuse to play with him because some overzealous teacher shared his vaccination status. This could go both ways for both vaccinated and unvaccinated children, as young people learn early on how to create cliques. In the eyes of a concerned parent of four, nothing about this “new normal” is healthy or sane. We may not be able to discern the psychological impacts in the present moment, but we shouldn’t be surprised if our children grow up to recall traumatic experiences from the COVID age.

Medical tyranny is among us, and companies and schools playing this game deserve to be the center of much blame in the creation of their own issues. The only answer is actual freedom, not freedom with an asterisk or fine print underneath.