Until six months ago, I had never imagined that the choice of whether to wear masks or not in public could function as one’s own political statement. The “Mask Debate” has been raging for months in the United States, and I find this phenomenon pretty fascinating.
I personally believe that if majority of population were to wear a mask, COVID-19 infection rates would drop significantly, and as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends, I feel that I should be wearing mask in public during a time like this when the number of new COVID-19 cases is now increasing beyond the prior weeks’ levels.
Wearing a mask was not a difficult task for me to do at all. It was probably because I was born and raised in Japan, where wearing masks during flu seasons is still believed to be common sense.
However, for someone like my husband, an American who was used to the idea that masks would only be worn by people who had particular occupations, such as lab researchers, construction workers, surgeons, or someone who was very ill, changing his mind and starting to accept the everyday reality of wearing masks in public seemed to be a more challenging mental shift.
Steven and I used to have mask-debates, and he would argue that masks wouldn’t help us from catching virus because people would touch their faces more often while wearing masks. He also would point out the fact that the general public purchased a majority of the facemask supplies, and healthcare providers couldn’t get them to take care of sick patients.
Even though it took for a while for Steven to change his mind, he eventually started to wear the mask that I sewed for him after the CDC reversed its initial claims about masks and other global studies concurred. However, there are still many people in our city (and country) who refuse to go outside wearing masks.
The surprising fact was that among those folks, who once didn’t mind wearing face masks, had become completely opposed to the idea of putting them on. It is probably because of the fact that wearing masks is now the political statement for them even though many health experts raised their voices, pointing out that wearing masks helps to slow the pandemic until the vaccine is fully developed.
I’m not a medical expert but I believe that wearing masks is one of the most reasonable ways for us to slowly, but surely, go back to our normal lives. Economists and public health experts seem to be on the same side of this issue as well. Isn’t the fastest way to get back to normalcy is to do everything public health experts are asking us to do in order to reopen all of the businesses, save our economy, and more importantly, save lives that would otherwise die?
If President Trump wore a giant red mask that said, “Make America Great Again” like he wears the red MAGA hat when he does the rallies, then his followers would probably start wearing the “MAGA mask.” Not only would his campaign staff make lot of money by selling them while sending the strong message to his supporters, Trump would’ve also saved so many lives just by wearing masks in front of his crowds. However, he would never do such a thing because he is well aware that not wearing masks itself has become the strong message/symbol for his supporters.
Passionate debates, arguments, and even physical fights have been erupting between those who wear masks and those who don’t; ultimately, though, I believe that everybody in America wants the lockdown to end completely, so the economy to be fully reopen and we can hug friends and family again.
Masks don’t block all of the virus particles; however, let’s not forget this: Why does every medical practitioner on the planet wear a mask? I don’t deny the fact that wearing a mask may has some costs, but it does, after all, come with bigger benefits.
My blog today was inspired by this article
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/masks-covid-19-infections-would-plummet-new-study-says
I sometimes take my time in reading comments written by Fox News watchers because they give me perspectives that I don’t usually have, and help me understand the United States where I live in.
https://www.foxnews.com/science/coronavirus-infections-plunge-80-percent-wore-masks