The American Problem

​So, masks...again 

Throughout all of this and the arguments and the politics of wearing a mask there's been something about it that hasn't been sitting right with me; beyond the virtuousness of the act of wearing a mask and those that are demanding that everyone does when faced with the argument of maintaining our rights as American citizens there's still something, more. 

I have spent a lifetime learning to balance my intellect and my emotions and as a result I generally trust my instincts, especially when I sit on the problem for a while, granted certain situations activate my anxieties and, in some cases, my depression which can manipulate my intuition which, in turn, can influence my perspectives. This has happened with me a great deal when it comes to my relationships over the course of the last five or six or seven years, still those issues are getting easier and easier to both recognize and resolve. 
          I mention this only because this isn't one of those situations, and although some issues may have been clouded by manipulated judgment this isn't one of them. 

I've been paying attention to the increased cases of COVID-19 throughout the country, and how those cases correlate with mask mandates, media coverage, protests, etc., and what I'm discovering, and even with very minimal research (although I dive into it, I mention that only so you might take the time...) the correlations between the increases and decreases of COVID-19 are not related to mask mandates. There's been a lot of talk behind the science of it all but understanding the science behind something and correlating it with the actual data are, believe it or not, two very different things. It might be worth your time to stop thinking about why the science behind masks SHOULD work and start looking into the correlations of whether it actually DOES work...

(all of you do seem to agree that science is a process, we learn from the data, we make mistakes, and we learn from those mistakes, formulating hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and then starting over again - it's not an exact "science." - you've said it yourselves; until politics get's involved and then all of a sudden we have iron-clad answers, until we don't, and then you're arguments about the process of science start over again)

(29 states and D.C. have mandated masks as of Thursday, go look at the graphs of COVID-19 cases, does it correlate with masks mandates? A very small handful of less populated states show a decrease (is that mask related or media related, compare that to major media announcements and protests), what about the rest?)

And, because of sound bites like contained droplets in our saliva and mucus and the virtuousness of wearing a mask I've seen people lose it because others are not wearing masks, and I've seen, among them, those same people sitting maskless in a small room talking and laughing - with each other; because the mandate states that it's OK not to wear a mask while seated; so, I can't help but wonder what is it, really that you're actually concerned about? Is it the mandate or is it your health?


It dawned on me, finally a few days ago why this issue hasn't been sitting right with me. 

This will likely sound ridiculous to some of you, only because some of you aren't willing to consider the possibility, but perhaps this idea is a jumping off point for you, a place to build your own foundations; essentially all I'm asking is that you stop blindly accepting everything that you hear, because you all do - all affiliated parties, the only differences are the widely, and mutually (party determined) sound bites that you're adopting. 

The most effective means to avoid contracting and/or recuperating [from] COVID-19 are: eating healthy, exercise, and immune support.
       If you're concerned about COVID-19 pay attention to the factors regarding the most severe cases and hospitalizations, pay attention to who is the most susceptible to the virus, and why. It's amazing to me that we haven't heard anything regarding how Americans eat, the percentage of Americans that are overweight, the effort we go through to maintain our health, or heaven forbid our for-profit insurance based healthcare system. 
          We're concerned enough about the virus to complain about people not wearing masks but not enough to actually change and maintain a healthier lifestyle, and that's inherently nonsensical. 
         
​Many of you are clearly more concerned about me, and others than you are about yourselves and those of you who are, you seem to be hiding behind the guise of being socially virtuous which, to me, seems exceptionally hypocritical. This isn't about my rights and freedoms as an American, not really for me it's about focusing on the things that are actually the most argumentatively pertinent. 

Masks are enabling. They enable people to not question their lifestyles, to not readjust how they eat, exercise, live; masks are a crutch. The problem isn't masks the problem is how we treat ourselves, the healthy are either not contracting COVID-19 or they're getting through fairly stress-free. What if the debate, instead of being about whether to wear masks or not, was actually about preventative healthcare (eating right, staying healthy, exercise, being conscious about how we're living) if we want long-term preventative action against COVID-19, it's not masks and it's not a vaccine. 

Much of the world that is successful in containing this virus and their death-rates - we're trying to compare their success with our failures in the wrong ways and in the wrong areas; the simple truth is, we are one of the most sickly, out-of-shape, physically apathetic countries on the planet and our COVID-19 numbers are showing that in dramatic fashion, and for whatever reason the argument is overshadowed by masks, and the complacency of American indifference. 


2020 has been an interesting year, to say the least the most interesting part of it, for me is that it's revealed the nature, and state of our political atmosphere but not in the way that many of you might recognize; the ultra-liberal and ultra-conservatives are both behaving as if our current atmosphere has only confirmed their perspectives, in reality it's presented, in dramatic fashion, that nobody knows what the fuck they're talking about and how relentlessly people hold to their convictions regardless of how irrational they might be; no, at the moment I'm not referring to masks but rather the general state of things. Extremism is dangerous, regardless the platform. 

Oh, and wash your hands!