To Mask or Not To Mask

The idea of wearing masks seems to have gotten heated. Pictures of parkgoers, beachgoers, and shoppers with and without masks. Fights, protests, and debates everywhere. I walked past one conversation with a guy bragging that he wasn’t wearing a mask because he “could get hit by a stray bullet someday, so why bother?”

Sure, you can make arguments against the effectiveness of masks. You can complain if you are looking for something to complain about. You can protest if you’re looking for something to protest. Or this can be really simple if you want to keep things simple.

I’m gonna take a simple approach.

Think about the last time you were driving a car. You wore your seatbelt, didn’t you? Of course you did. It’s common sense.

Is a seatbelt enough to prevent you from getting in an accident? No. Is it enough to guarantee you won’t die in an accident? Of course not. But it is a key piece of safety for you and everyone else in the car. Over time, we gained other things to keep us safer: air bags, ABS, traction control, blind-spot monitoring, brake-assist… But you still wear a seatbelt. It’s common sense.

Is a mask enough to prevent you from getting the virus? No. Is it enough to guarantee you won’t spread the virus? Of course not. But it is a key piece of safety for you and everyone around you. Over time, we’ll gain other things to keep us safer. But for now, all we have are masks, distancing, and handwashing.

So when you go out in public, wear a mask. It’s common sense.