The Great Mask Debate

     The other day my husband was walking through a parking lot to enter a store.  He was wearing his facemask, something that has been strongly urged by medical experts, but not mandated by our government leaders.  As he neared the door, he passed an acquaintance who was sitting in his truck with the window down.  Seeing my husband in his mask he said, "You must be a democrat."

     Now, his comment bothers me on a host of different levels, first and foremost because it underscores how politicized the issue of wearing a mask has become.  For me, this is an issue that is such a non-issue that I simply cannot fathom how or why we are even in this situation, a situation where people choose to take up a health and safety issue of this magnitude and label it a violation of their human rights.  A situation that maybe would not have even existed if we had leadership from the top down who would LEAD and model the right behavior instead of denigrating the experts and acting like the world is back to normal and that there is no more problem with CoVid19. 

     My husband was nonplussed by the comment and told the acquaintance that he didn't wear a mask because of his political affiliation, but because he wanted to protect people like this acquaintance, who by the way, has stage 4 lung cancer among other serious, life-threatening health problems.  My husband gently chastised him for not wearing a mask himself in view of the struggles he was facing with his health.  Good for my husband.  But I have been mulling over this encounter for a long time now, and I have come up with what I think also could have been said.

     Yes, I wear a mask, and I wear it not as a badge declaring a political affiliation, but because I am an American and a member of the human race which is currently struggling through unprecedented times of uncertainty and fear over a pandemic that is raging through our country virtually unchecked.  I wear the mask to protect you, others like you, and also to protect my family -- children, grandchildren, and elderly mother.  I wear the mask because it is the right thing to do.  It doesn't harm anyone, not a bit.  And the potential good it does is almost incalculable.  Why wouldn't everyone do this simple little thing to stop the spread of an illness so contagious and so devastating that our hospitals are bursting at the seams and our death toll is breaking records on a daily basis?  A mask is not a political statement.  It is an easy and effective action we can all take to help stop this virus and protect each other.  For me, it gives me a sense that there is something I can do to help -- and have control over this situation, even if it's minuscule control or even imagined.  It makes me feel I have some power to help.  And it makes me feel good that I am doing the right thing and protecting other people.

     In this time, our country needs to forget about political parties.  CoVid doesn't care if you are Republican, Democrat, Socialist, Communist, or any other affiliate.  CoVid doesn't care if you are black, white, brown, or green.   CoVid doesn't discriminate.  It ravages everyone and anyone, and if wearing a mask can help stop that monster, then wear a mask is what I will do -- and you should too.  It's that easy.  It's just that easy.  Do it.

SEND HIM BACK! SEND HIM BACK! SEND HIM BACK!

Nearly four years ago, when Trump walked through the White House doors, I didn't think I could live through four years of this egomaniacal moron.  But, nearly three years later, here I am.  Here are we all.  We are still alive in spite of anything Trump has done or said.  We have been on the edge of war with at least two countries, including where we stand with Iran right now.  We have lost the respect of many (if not all) of our most important allies.  We have the worst crisis at our southern border that we've ever had -- not that the number itself is his fault, but the handling of those numbers most certainly is.   He has lost more members of his team than he's been able to retain, and he has evidently surrounded himself with criminals -- or at the very least, amoral people without conscience. The only positive thing I can say is that our economy is strong, and that is in spite of ongoing trade wars with China, Mexico, and Canada.  Yes, we are still alive, but we are divided, and that division could be fatal.  Although we have lived through four years (nearly) with this imbecile, I for one do NOT want to live through four more with him.  The only way we can get rid of him is to unite against him.  We cannot fall for his ploys that are designed to rally his base and divide the rest of us.  We have got to choose a candidate who can rally and unite the rest of us to vote against the maniac in the White House.  I pray to God that we can find that person!

My thoughts on the moron who has taken on the presidency, if anyone cares to know:

I’m sorry if it is rude or improper to call the leader of our (already) great nation a moron, but it seems to me to be true.  I think his moronic behavior has its roots in his egocentricity, not in actual stupidity or ignorance. I believe that everything T-Rump does, he does for the benefit of T-Rump -- himself.  Because his motives are self-serving, he doesn’t care one whit, not a single iota, HOW he accomplishes what he wants. He cares only that it is accomplished, and that in its accomplishment, HE looks wonderful.

I suspect that the Mueller investigation, while not coming up with enough evidence to show T-Rump to be a criminal, probably came up with enough information to support unethical, if not illegal, activities.  I also suspect that many of the unethical activities would have become illegal ones if not for the fact that there were people around him who simply would not carry out his orders or go along with his directives.

This morning one of the guests on the PBS news program Washington Week, referring to T-Rump’s 4th of July festivities on the mall in Washington, D.C., compared peoples’ reactions to the responses we have to Rorschach tests.  His point--that if you support T-Rump, you saw the festivities as a celebration of our country, and if you don’t support him, you saw N. Korean or Hitleresque self-promotion and aggrandizement-- gave me pause.  He is correct. We see everything through the filter of our beliefs and value systems. I think this means the Democratic Party -- and all 24 of the hopeful presidential nominees -- needs to pay attention to this idea.  If we are to get T-Rump out of the White House, the Democratic nominee needs to win over at least some of those people who still see T-Rump as a hero-- and I don’t think they can do that by vilifying him. Instead, they are going to have to promote themselves as even greater heroes who can accomplish even more than T-Rump-- and HOW they plan to fulfill those accomplishments.