Dear Anti-Maskers: An Open Letter

In the third year of this global pandemic, enough is long past enough. We know masks work. You know masks work.

You are not brave. Your temporary discomfort is more important to you than facing the truth that you might a) be sick, and b) could pass that on to others. Brave people do not melt in the gentle breeze of communal reality. Brave people toughen up, show the world what they can do, accept the adversity, and put the mask on. 

You are not compassionate. Wearing a mask in public is quite possibly the least anyone will ever ask you to do in consideration of a stranger, and you're failing. 

You are not doing anything "for the children." On the contrary, you're demonstrating to children that it's more important to be comfortable than compassionate. We used to agree that it was important for kids to learn cooperation, teamwork, humility. But you are telling children that no one matters besides them. 

You are not virtuous. You are making planes turn around in midair because you can't be inconvenienced for a couple of hours. 

You are not patriotic. Patriots try to protect and defend their fellow citizens. Protecting and defending each other isn't always about taking up arms. Sometimes it's just sharing resources, taking turns, only taking what you need, making sure that your neighbors have as much of a chance at getting through a hard time as you do. It is a national embarrassment that vaccination rates in this country have more to do with political party than any other demographic. 

You are not faithful to your God. Every major world religion puts compassion among its highest values. Fighting against masks, or vaccines, or any other mitigations, shows your true colors--that you care more about self than anything else, which is almost certainly a violation of your religious tradition. 

I get it. You're angry. You're feeling out of control. I understand those feelings. None of us likes being told what to do. Some of you have legitimate beefs about the ways these mitigations have changed your life. But your anger is not coming from a place of rationality. It's coming from grief. Or tribalism, refusing to concede any ground to your political opponent. Whatever is the source of your selfishness--it's long past time to give it up and let go. The pandemic is ample evidence that your deeply held convictions are based in the fantasy of independence. If freedom comes at the expense of accountability to each other, that's not freedom. It's tyranny. 

We live in an interdependent world, like it or not. The sooner we all face that and act like it, the sooner we can get on with making the world better for all of us.