Are Masks the Hill We’re Going to Die On?

I hate wearing masks and unless you are in the mask making business or one of those weird folks who is just excited to have a new accessory, I’m going to assume you do too.   Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take an honest look at the debate regarding mask wearing in America. 

Is this the hill we’re going to die on?   There are some extremely vocal opponents of mask wearing making a lot of noise about this.   Why are they choosing this particular issue to plant their flag and fight for?  Is it the right place to make a stand? 

The first argument I ran across was the being required to wear a mask was a violation of personal liberty.   If this is the case, then so is being required by law to wear a seatbelt or not drive under the influence of alcohol.   Our society has set the precedent that personal liberty does not supersede public safety.   Are we ready and willing to revisit that precedent? 

Next there was the wave of posters that went up announcing the mask mandates as violations of 4^th amendment and HIPPA rights.   The 4^th amendment applies to protecting citizens from illegal search and seizure by the government and HIPPA rights are limited to the sharing of information by insurance and health care providers.   Are we ready and willing to expand the power of the government to allow for those laws to apply to private citizens and companies?   What are the consequences of that?

Many of the anti-mask protests point out that wearing a mask is not 100% effective in preventing the spread of the virus.   Food handling regulations are not 100% effective at preventing people from getting salmonella or food poisoning.   Are we willing to throw these regulations and their enforcement out the window because they do not work 100% of the time?  

The list of reasons to not wear masks goes on and on.   They drastically overwhelm the reasons that have been presented for wearing a mask.   The only reason that anyone is advocating wearing a mask is that they might save lives.   Maybe not all of the lives at risk, but they might save some.  

Masks are uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as loosing a loved one.   Even a loved one who is already sick and likely won’t live much longer is going to be unlikely to sacrifice any of their last moments with their family or friends.   Each of those moments is valuable and wearing a mask can help preserve some of them.   Even if the mask can’t preserve all of them, are the percentage that it does worth the effort? 

We all have our reasons for not wanting to wear the masks, but I ask again, is this the hill we’re going to die on?   Is it worth the fight and the fuss?   Should we be further dividing our communities over this issue?   Is this worth turning your ire on your neighbors? 

Or are there bigger issues that we can direct our anger towards?   Are there acts of protest that will make a bigger impact on the world we live in?   Are there ways that we can use this anti-mask energy to make our communities better?  

It’s up to you to determine if this is the hill you’re going to die on.   For me, there are mountain size problems that are going to impact our children for years to come that I am going to choose to make my stand on.  I’ll deal with the mask.