Help! I'm Being Oppressed!

 Suggesting that we could wear masks while the current surges of COVID sweep through our nation is causing what has become a predictable uproar. The very idea that we might afford ourselves some measure of protection from a disease that has killed more than a million Americans makes many of those with pointy heads concealed by red baseball caps anxious. 

Well, more than just anxious. It makes them upset enough to talk in terms that suggest oppression. "We won't go back!" insist those who probably weren't wearing masks in the first place. Not while their friends and neighbors were sick and dying. Not while the pandemic raged. Not while there was science to back up the notion that wearing a mask was saving lives. 

Keeping in mind that there is no current mask mandate, "CDC recommends that vaccinated and unvaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings when the COVID risk to your community is high." 

A recommendation. Like, "Hey it might rain today. Better take an umbrella just in case." 

Tyranny. 

At my school, we have stopped insisting that kids wear masks. We make them available for staff and students who feel more comfortable wearing them. We are no longer littering our playground with masks that are cast off the instant the door to the outside is opened. We no longer have to send groups of kids to the office to mask up. It is a relief.

Except for those moments when you hear someone cough. Suddenly I am thrown back to a time not long ago when we were having swabs shoved up our noses every other day and my glasses were constantly fogged over because I wanted to be safe. I had a two year run without catching a cold. This was after spending a career prior with a bout with bronchitis almost assured somewhere along the school calendar. Germs can cause sickness. Masks help stop the spread of germs. 

We are not currently cleaning surfaces with our tongues. But this is only a recommendation. Like limiting yourself to two beers a week. Not a law. Not enforceable by any government agency. The government also suggests putting on a sweater. It's starting to get a little chilly in the evenings.