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.
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