As I write this blog, we're essentially back to square one as it pertains to the Corona Virus. In New York, Governor Hochul announced recently a requirement to mask at all indoor businesses. Of course, by now, we could have easily defeated the virus and reduced its effectiveness. However, it was made political, with some noise makers taking to T.V. and use their pulpits to spread the false narrative that Americans were losing freedoms and were ever being 'oppressed'.
Saying that wearing a mask is repressive is insulting to those that actually have been oppressed. When one has been dragged out of their home in the dead of night, into frigid temperatures, and even seen their belongings stolen in the process, then you can talk about oppression. When you've had the mask slapped on your face before you've been brought to a relocation camp, then you can talk to me about feeling oppressed. When pundits and others liken wearing the mask to what happened with the Jewish community in occupied Germany, I can only shake my head in disgust. Disgust that they'd not only use that as the measuring stick, but that they'd use that atrocity in such a trivial manner.
It used to be Americans rallied around each other in trying times like these. I hesitate to use 9/11 as an example, as yeah, we rallied around each other, but it came with a dark side. We made everyone who was Muslim the scapegoat for our fears and anguish. I think a better example will be what happened in Kentucky, and how it was devastated by recent tornados. Political dogma doesn't matter, Americans see fellow Americans whose lives have bene torn apart by the storms. Many have lost everything, just as the holiday season approaches. Already we have people rallying around those communities, offering help.
Alas, when it comes to the masking to help keep other Americans safe, our selfish side comes on strong. Those that sacrifice comfort to wear the mask are mocked. Many of those self-assured folks who brazenly thumbed their nose at the mask regulations now suffer in hospitals. Some take to social media to present themselves as cautionary tales to wear the mask, get the shots, and the boosters. For many of them, those videos have been the last they'll ever do, as the unlucky souls die not long after. Lives lost and all they had to do was wear a simple mask.
For those who are so steadfast that wearing a mask infringes on their rights, why do they wear a seat belt in a car. After all, seat belts are completely uncomfortable and annoying. It wasn't that long ago that seat belts weren't a requirement on school buses. So, if wearing a mask in public is such a strain on your freedoms, what about seat belts? If big government isn't going to tell you to wear a mask, why should you let it tell you to wear seat belts, right?
When one reads that aloud they quickly see how ridiculous the argument about masks really has become. I for one, don't like wearing mask. For one, I have hearing issues. They are self-inflicted, but there are times I have to ask someone wearing a mask to repeat themselves because I have trouble understanding what they are saying. However, I deal with it because another person's safety is more important than a brief inconvenience for myself. Second, overall, they annoy me. I've had them break, come off, and even failed to remove one before a sneezing fit. Once again, I'll wear the mask anyways because I care about the well-being of others.
And when you really think about it, we should get used to wearing mask, and it has nothing to do with COVID. It has to do with the environment. In China, it's not uncommon to see people wearing mask as part of their daily lives. Of course, China is one of the top polluters and they've pretty much destroyed the air quality of their country. Given the GOP's lack of belief that mankind has any effect on the environment and their desire to roll back as many regulations as possible, we could very well be like China in five to ten years. Living in a country whose air is so chalk full of chemicals that belonged intake is not advisable.
If there had been less in-fighting and more people willing to sacrifice comfort for the betterment of those around them, it's quite possible we could have returned to normalcy by now. Instead, we get to suffer because of the selfish few. And it doesn't feel like, by scanning the feedback, we've learned our lesson, we could very well be spending the foreseeable future stuck in a rut, looking upon the other countries as they make a quicker return to normalcy. Even then, we'd complain about why it's taking so long, we'd blame the leaders that were actually doing the most to help us, and all around not see the irony of what we are doing. You want to return to normal, as do I. I'm tired of wearing the mask, more tired of having to wear it because of the selfishness of others. Let's do this, get this virus in the rearview mirror and get back to being normal. Stop listening to uneducated hacks like Joe Rogan. Stop listening to the fear mongers of "insert news network here". Just as brave patriots before sacrificed use of electricity, newspapers, and other such items before, maybe we can do the same. We can learn at least the lesson of sacrifice from them, before we get them all killed because we don't want to wear a mask.
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