The Great Mask Debate

posted in: Writing | 1

It is day three-hundred-sixty-billion of social distancing because of a global pandemic and the debate over masks continues. For some bazaar reason (which are too many to list here) wearing a mask while out in public has become a political issue.

I started this post with intentions to write my own rendition of why we should be wearing masks despite our own opinions on the matter. However, I kept reading thoughtful and sensible posts about that very subject. Rather an reinvent the wheel, I’m going to share with you some of the things I’ve read.

Pay Attention To The Narratives by Terri Fullerton

Whether we wear a mask is not about party alignment or civil liberty. It reveals our moral character. A refusal to cover our faces is not just about people taking a stand for their freedom. It’s that people value themselves and their comfort more than others. It’s about character and our desire for the well-being of others, especially the vulnerable population.

Read the full article on Christianity Today

Christ, COVID, and Calm by Amy Wiebe

We can and should demonstrate care for our communities by wearing them when advised by our local authorities. We are loving others and wisely submitting to authority when we lay down our own personal preferences or even liberties in order to serve and respect others.

Read the full post on The Glorious Table

For me, what it comes down to, is simply being a polite and kind person. You would hold the door open for a stranger, right? You might let someone into traffic ahead of you, you might even pay for the Starbucks order of the car behind you. Perhaps you donate to Toys for Tots and coat drives at Christmas and you probably drop a dollar bill into the boot when firemen are in the intersection raising money for the Fire Department. All of these things are done for complete strangers with zero payoff for ourselves.

Why do we do these things? Because it’s how our parents raised us: Be polite to others. Be kind to strangers.

Maybe the person who is wearing a mask and gloves at the grocery store has an illness that would bring them to their knees if they got really sick from COVID-19. Maybe they live with someone who is elderly and they don’t want to put them into the hospital by themselves. Or perhaps, that person is just really scared and wearing a mask feels like the security blanket they need to move about their daily life as normally as possible. Whatever the reason someone wears a mask, just be kind and do the same.

Listen, when its all said and done and 20 years from now all the data has been reviewed and we discover that we didn’t really need to wear masks…what does it matter? Who does it hurt? Maybe we will get some breakouts on our face and we have to smell our own coffee breath but the bottom line is that we showed concern and kindness towards our neighbors.

So, let’s not be the jerk who lets the door slam one someone instead of holding it open. What would your mother say about that?

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