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When I wear a mask, I think about the good it's doing for myself and my neighbors. It breaks my heart that in an unprecedented crisis, there are those who prioritize a perceived minor infringement on their liberty over a harmless act of communal compassion.
To me, this isn't a slippery slope or government's intrusion upon my life. This is an era unlike anything else we have faced. It's true in sports, too. We can live something approximating normalcy if we're flexible and adherent to safety standards.
I've not heard a good explanation as to why masks are different than seatbelts in cars, shoes in gas stations or pants in public. It's a common sense safety measure endorsed by the world's health experts. It's a modest (temporary!) inconvenience that benefits those around me.
The only difference: Those are time-honored laws and mores, and this is a short-term fix handed down from a lead government official. With a baked-in assumption that the lead official is overstepping or leading us astray.
Do those who managed to strike a mask mandate from the books feel an overriding sense of relief today? A sense of achievement? 'We gave citizens their power back! The power to act as they choose! To put others at risk because these are our principles!'
I will continue to mask up, not because any law suggests one way or the other, but because it is the compassionate thing to do.
