Wear Your Mask

To the Editor:

People who refuse to wear a face mask during the current epidemic seem to object on the grounds that the government should not be telling them how to live - that they have a “right” to not wear a mask, and to accept the risk of getting sick or not. They are missing the point: the reason we are required to wear masks is to protect everyone else - not ourselves.

The simple blue masks or cotton face coverings people wear do not protect the wearer very much - only about 50%. What they do is prevent the wearer from spreading the virus to the community, since many people are infected and don’t realize it.

The government is entitled to make rules that infringe on individual rights in order to protect the public. Freedom of speech does not entitle you to shout “FIRE” in a movie theatre. You cannot speed or drive recklessly because you are endangering others as well as yourself. We have many such laws.

If, back in March, everyone had worn a mask for just three or four weeks, and we had closed the schools and non-essential businesses for that same short period, we could be free of the virus by now and back to business as usual. Instead, the richest, most advanced, most modern country in the world has the worst epidemic: four million infections so far, 150,000 slow, terrifying deaths, including many heroic health workers. Those who refuse to wear masks are only prolonging the epidemic.

It’s not much to ask. How about a little patriotism? How about a little “do unto others?”

Mary Belle Rogers

Round Top