Let’s face it, people have all kinds of reasons why they are not wearing masks in public during the Coronavirus. Without a cure, the only way to slow its spread is to use social distancing and to wear a mask. However, when we venture out into public, the majority of the people are not wearing masks. Why are people not wearing masks? Here are three irresponsible reasons why people are not wearing masks during the Coronavirus.
1) Can it Just Be Our Naivety?
The Coronavirus has truly made our world different and uncomfortable. One of those uncomfortable disruptions is the notion of having to wear a mask in public.
For some people, they simply choose not to wear a mask. Could part of this decision be based on naivety? In other words, perhaps people honestly feel that nothing bad will happen to them. They truly think they will not get infected.
Some people refuse to wear a mask because they believe God will protect them. And, some people don’t wear a mask because they believe they are healthy and not “at risk” for getting the virus.
Here is a counter to those two statements above.
The “God Will Protect Me” Excuse
To say that “God will protect me; I don’t need to wear a mask” seems like a poor lack of judgment. It’s like saying, “I don’t need to wear a seat belt when I’m driving, because God will protect me from getting into an accident.” Are we trying to test fate?
What if we all knew a hurricane was coming but said to ourselves, “God will make the hurricane pass over my house”? Yet, we live in the path of a hurricane, all the meteorologists are predicting a hurricane, and everyone is evacuating their homes. This logic doesn’t hold a lot of water… no pun intended.
I’m a believer in God, his son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I’m not trying to offend anyone. But to me, this excuse seems to be a highly skewed perspective on faith.
In the end, people have their reasons why they are not wearing their masks in public. But exercising caution does not show a lack of faith.
The “I’m Healthy and Not At Risk” Excuse
There are people who think they are healthy and not at risk of becoming infected. To them, why should they wear a mask? In general, they seem to act like they are invincible.
However, this is a highly contagious virus with no known cure.
If someone coughs, sneezes, or even talks, their droplets can travel through the air and infect someone close by. The virus can live in the air for a couple of hours. And, the virus has been known to live on certain surfaces for a few days.
To learn how the Coronavirus can spread, read this short article on WebMD at https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus-transmission-overview#1.
To say that one’s state of health and well-being is above the risk seems very naive. We should feel blessed that we are healthy and not infected. But it also doesn’t mean that we are above this virus.
These irresponsible reasons why people are not wearing masks during the Coronavirus pandemic hurt us all.
2) Vanity is More Important Than Saving Lives
For the record, I hate wearing masks. I’m sure most people despise wearing masks. They are uncomfortable and look pretty stupid. Human beings are social creatures, so wearing a mask limits our interaction with others.
It feels very uncomfortable walking into a store and experiencing people looking at us oddly for wearing a mask. Doesn’t it feel like wearing a mask is attracting unwanted attention?
Another reason to dislike masks is that they make it hard to breathe. And, for those who wear glasses, masks can fog them up which can be very annoying.
Yet with all these annoyances, there are people who complain about wearing masks due to how they look and feel. The masks don’t fit right, they look too bulky, the color scheme is wrong, they don’t match our outfits, etc. In other words, these are mostly vanity excuses.
We need to remember that wearing a mask is not only for our benefit, but also for the benefit of others. This has everything to do about protecting ourselves and others.
Vanity is an irresponsible reason for people to not wear a mask. Yes, wearing masks is incredibly annoying and frustrating. But if this is what we have to complain about, then we are way ahead of the curve (so to speak).
3) There is a Reason Pride is One of the Deadliest Sins
Pride is literally a killer. Certainly, most theologians believe it is the deadliest of all sins.
It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.
St. Augustine
Some people just downright will not wear a mask because they think they don’t have to or need to. But, by not wearing masks, we are increasing the odds of spreading the virus.
Companies are making their employees and customers wear masks for the safety of everyone. They are trying to do their part as a society. But people are starting to “lose it” when faced with the challenge of wearing a mask in public.
“Karen” has been a social media darling this past week. She was a customer at at California Trader Joe’s and was escorted out of the store for refusing to wear a mask. Here is the scene caught on video. It was posted on this Twitter feed below. Karen makes a huge scene about not wearing a mask.
https://twitter.com/search?q=karen%20mask&src=typeahead_click
There are all kinds of videos on social media that show unruly people making scenes about wearing a mask in public. Some people say it’s against their Constitutional rights to wear a mask, others claim medical reasons for wearing a mask (as Karen did above, which may/may not be true).
It seems the majority of those who don’t want to wear a mask have an excuse (or at least a temper tantrum). Of course, if someone truly has a medical condition and can’t wear a mask, that doesn’t apply here.
There is a good article by Julia Marcus of The Atlantic that gives an explanation of why people don’t wear masks. Here it is: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/dudes-who-wont-wear-masks/613375/.
It’s frustrating being told to do something that is not agreed upon. We feel like our rights are being violated or our liberties are being taken away.
However, this pandemic is a situation where we need to think less about ourselves and more about our fellow human beings. Perhaps this is God testing us, telling us to do something we really don’t want to do in order to serve and help other people.
Choosing to Not Wear Masks is Just Selfish
Honestly, no one likes wearing masks in public. It is highly inconvenient and unusual. In fact, this is something we can all agree about.
The reality is that there is no vaccine. We have an unprecedented virus that has spread across the world. Our government leaders and medical professionals issued a state of emergency to stay home and close businesses. This whole situation has been very intense.
Just like we don’t know what people are thinking or what is in their heads, we don’t know who has the virus at any given time. To enter a public setting without a mask is equivalent to playing Russian Roulette.
Yes, the majority of the people will never contract this virus. And, the majority of the people who do contract the Coronavirus will fully recover. But, there are people in this world who are susceptible to this virus and can die if they contract it.
If there is anything that we should learn from this experience, we should learn humility and sacrifice. This is not only about protecting ourselves, but also protecting our families, loved ones, and neighbors. This is such a small sacrifice to make in the larger context of preserving life.
One thing to keep in mind, is that God gave us all a high-functioning brain and free will for a reason. He will allow us to make poor decisions and suffer the consequences. We need to use the knowledge God gave us as a “steering wheel” to guide our decisions, as opposed to relying on him to be our air-bag for reckless behavior.
To Wear or Not to Wear, That is the Question
I wrote a previous article about the year 2020 being the end of the world or the beginning of salvation. In the article are examples of world events up until this point that might signal the end of times. Conversely, the article states that perhaps God is giving us this opportunity to save us from ourselves. Maybe wearing a mask is the irony of 2020, covering up and protecting ourselves from this world’s wickedness.
Check out the article here https://thefaithfuljourney.com/why-2020-is-either-the-end-of-the-world-or-the-arrival-of-salvation/.
People have their irresponsible reasons for not wearing masks during the Coronavirus. This is why we as human beings always get in the way of ourselves. We’re acting like spoiled children who are complaining about being in the car for 10 minutes and asking, “Are we there yet?” over and over again.
Wearing a mask will hopefully help all of us return to some sort of normalcy. It is helping to get the economy back on track. People are finally able to get out of their house and socialize again. Choosing not to wear a mask is going to put us back to where we were… at home, secluded, and with more jobs being lost.
Truthfully, if we had a vaccine and we got the shot, then we probably wouldn’t have to wear a mask in public. At that point, it probably would be up to our own preference. Until then, if we are not going to wear a mask for ourselves, then let’s wear a mask to help save someone else’s life.
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