The Adjusted Normal, 18. Mask? Me?
One thing that I am sometimes asked, when chatting with someone who finds out I grew up in Boston, is, why are people in the United States so stupid as not to wear a mask? I have no idea. I, too, didn't know there were that many people who don't understand basic science.
I understand that, under normal circumstances, it is an impingment on our freedom to be ordered to wear a mask or not. We have grown up with the idea that we are free to choose what to wear on our person, not only in the United States, but also in Europe. But these are not normal circumstances.
Most people in Europe, not just Spain, have complied with the orders to wear masks. We have had explained just how coronavirus is spread and how to defend ourselves. Once the dearth of masks had ended, more and more, we were encouraged to wear them, and when enough were being manufactured and available, ordered to do so by many countries. The greatest disseminator of the virus is the droplets of saliva and moist air we expel when we breathe out, talk, cough, or otherwise open our mouths. We may pick up the virus if it lands on a surface before it dies, which is why we are also told to wash our hands. But the greatest danger is to be close to a person who is a carrier and expelling the droplets. Hence, the masks, which, while not being a complete barrier, do stop a lot of those small droplets from passing through, thereby lessening the chance of infection, and, if it occurs, getting much less viral charge, which leads to a lesser infection.
That's pretty much the science. Why is it so difficult to understand? Because people tend to look to their leaders for reassurance on what is correct, rather than think for themselves, using available, reasonable, information. And when their leaders, who say they know just what their citizens want, say wearing a mask is not necessary, that there is no problem with the virus, that Covid is a simple flu, that the liberal snowflakes want to control the populace, these people tend to believe them. The countries with populist, simplistic leaders, such as the United States, Brazil, the UK, and Russia, are not doing well with the virus. Their populist leaders play it down, even Boris Johnson of the UK, who had the virus and wound up in the ICU. It doesn't seem to have affected him, unless it's cognitively.
They are doing this because they are placing the economy over public health. If they were to shut down their countries, or the worst-affected parts of their countries, the economy would suffer. So, these unenlightened men prefer to keep the country open so the money keeps flowing. They know that if large amounts of people were to lose their jobs because of the virus, they would have to open their coffers to keep people from going hungry. So, they prefer to keep the people working, and the companies making money. What they don't seem to get through their thick skulls is, that if there is no public health, there is no economy.
In the United States, another factor plays a role. It is a land based on freedoms. One of the things every American treasures is their personal freedom, which is embodied in the Constitution, and which is sacred. State and Revolutionary mottoes bear this out; "Don't tread on me," "Live free or die." But, just as freedom of speech is sacred, it cannot be used to do harm to others. Nor can personal freedoms override public safety.
Then, there are the conspiracies. Every country has its conspiracy nuts. But the United States seems to outshine them all. That it's a means of control, that the virus is a hoax to get us to "follow the leader." That the end result will be a vaccine filled with nanobots so Bill Gates can tell us when to eat, when to go to sleep, and when to go to the bathroom. There are so many insane theories out there, and I'm still waiting to find the one which says this is an alien conspiracy so they can come on their spaceships and use us as guinea pigs. And that one is probably out there, too.
Please, you may hate the mask. I do. But wear it, if only to avoid looking like a fool when they wheel you into the ICU.
Life continues. With a mask.
I understand that, under normal circumstances, it is an impingment on our freedom to be ordered to wear a mask or not. We have grown up with the idea that we are free to choose what to wear on our person, not only in the United States, but also in Europe. But these are not normal circumstances.
Most people in Europe, not just Spain, have complied with the orders to wear masks. We have had explained just how coronavirus is spread and how to defend ourselves. Once the dearth of masks had ended, more and more, we were encouraged to wear them, and when enough were being manufactured and available, ordered to do so by many countries. The greatest disseminator of the virus is the droplets of saliva and moist air we expel when we breathe out, talk, cough, or otherwise open our mouths. We may pick up the virus if it lands on a surface before it dies, which is why we are also told to wash our hands. But the greatest danger is to be close to a person who is a carrier and expelling the droplets. Hence, the masks, which, while not being a complete barrier, do stop a lot of those small droplets from passing through, thereby lessening the chance of infection, and, if it occurs, getting much less viral charge, which leads to a lesser infection.
That's pretty much the science. Why is it so difficult to understand? Because people tend to look to their leaders for reassurance on what is correct, rather than think for themselves, using available, reasonable, information. And when their leaders, who say they know just what their citizens want, say wearing a mask is not necessary, that there is no problem with the virus, that Covid is a simple flu, that the liberal snowflakes want to control the populace, these people tend to believe them. The countries with populist, simplistic leaders, such as the United States, Brazil, the UK, and Russia, are not doing well with the virus. Their populist leaders play it down, even Boris Johnson of the UK, who had the virus and wound up in the ICU. It doesn't seem to have affected him, unless it's cognitively.
They are doing this because they are placing the economy over public health. If they were to shut down their countries, or the worst-affected parts of their countries, the economy would suffer. So, these unenlightened men prefer to keep the country open so the money keeps flowing. They know that if large amounts of people were to lose their jobs because of the virus, they would have to open their coffers to keep people from going hungry. So, they prefer to keep the people working, and the companies making money. What they don't seem to get through their thick skulls is, that if there is no public health, there is no economy.
In the United States, another factor plays a role. It is a land based on freedoms. One of the things every American treasures is their personal freedom, which is embodied in the Constitution, and which is sacred. State and Revolutionary mottoes bear this out; "Don't tread on me," "Live free or die." But, just as freedom of speech is sacred, it cannot be used to do harm to others. Nor can personal freedoms override public safety.
Then, there are the conspiracies. Every country has its conspiracy nuts. But the United States seems to outshine them all. That it's a means of control, that the virus is a hoax to get us to "follow the leader." That the end result will be a vaccine filled with nanobots so Bill Gates can tell us when to eat, when to go to sleep, and when to go to the bathroom. There are so many insane theories out there, and I'm still waiting to find the one which says this is an alien conspiracy so they can come on their spaceships and use us as guinea pigs. And that one is probably out there, too.
Please, you may hate the mask. I do. But wear it, if only to avoid looking like a fool when they wheel you into the ICU.
Life continues. With a mask.
Comments
Post a Comment