Vaccine, Masks, Science, and Freedom

 Covid.  It’s political.

Let’s begin with the honest statement that no one knows everything about Covid-19.  Our knowledge, whether the typical “man on the street” or a medical professional specializing in virology, is ever evolving as more and more data is compiled about this virus, its origins and its mutations.

Actually, this evolutional knowledge is not atypical for any science-based inquiry.  Imagine if knowledge about diseases remained static – we would still be bloodletting, treating toothaches with cocaine, recommending smoking as a cure for asthma, drinking energy drinks containing radium, and considering bathing or handwashing as a bad medical practice. 

And so, just as our medical knowledge generally as well as about specific diseases has and continues to evolve, so does our knowledge about this very new virus, Covid-19.  Anyone who claims to have the absolute answer to anything about Covid is either ignorant, overly impressed with themselves, or lying.

I, like many, try to be well-informed about this virus, but it is incredibly difficult to obtain a full body of what is known about Covid to date.  Many questions that one might ask do not have answers or relevant data readily available.  And yes, it seems like the information that is generally provided to the public is carefully selected to support the narrative that is being pushed.

               VACCINES AND VACCINATIONS

For example, we know that both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals are being infected, especially with the Delta variant.  We also hear that the new spike is to be blamed on the unvaccinated.  But there are several additional questions that leave one without answers, for example:

·        What percentage of this new spike in cases is serious (e.g., place the infected individual in the hospital) and what percentage of those infected die?

·        What is the death percentage due to Delta Covid for the vaccinated who have been infected and what is the death percentage for those unvaccinated who have been infected?

·        Since the vaccinated apparently are asymptomatic when infected, do we really have an accurate number of the percentage of vaccinated who become infected and how does that affect the claim that most of the new infections are in the unvaccinated?

·        If vaccinated people get an asymptomatic form of Covid, then aren’t they actually the most likely spreaders?  And if that is the case, why are the unvaccinated being labeled the evil pariahs of this pandemic?

·        And are the answers to the above, along with much other information, important to one’s ability to make decisions about receiving the vaccine or supporting mandatory vaccination?

                MASKS

Masks are another issue about which everyone seems to believe that they hold the one and only correct view.  Those opinions include: that masks are totally ineffective; that they protect the wearer from getting sick; that they only protect an infected wearer from spreading the disease; and many other points of view.  Again, there are questions and uncertainties.

We do know that Covid spreads via air particulate.  So if an infected person breathes out, they are likely breathing out spreadable Covid viruses.  My understanding of masks is, that like any other barrier, they may stop some of what might otherwise pass through the plane where the mask is.  A steel barrier probably stops everything.  No barrier stops nothing.  Masks, from N95 to a single piece of cloth may stop some particulate to a greater or lesser extent.  To me it seems reasonable that a particular barrier’s effectiveness would be the same regardless of the direction (in or out) of the particulate.

But this is the same as for any airborne disease.  It’s like a rainstorm.  If I go out without an umbrella, I am going to get wet.  If I use an umbrella, I will likely get less wet, but depending on the size of the umbrella and how it is made as well as the extent and severity of the rain, I am going to get at least a little wet and maybe even soaked.

If one accepts that analogy and also puts one’s political affiliation aside, I think that we could all agree that some wearing of masks might be reasonable.  But it does not necessarily follow that mask mandates are required or even that they are wise. 

A person, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, can assess their risk factors, both to themselves and others.  If they believe that masks do provide at least some protection from becoming seriously infected with Covid and if they are concerned about being infected, then they can choose to wear a mask in situations where they feel they may be at risk.   If they believe that they may be infected and able to spread the disease, then they may choose to wear a mask, or they might simply choose to self-quarantine or take other measures to protect others.

The seasonal flu is an airborne virus and can be quite serious or even deadly to some people.  Many people get an annual flu vaccine, many others do not.  During flu season some people do not change their behavior at all, others do more handwashing or social distancing, some decline handshaking or avoid places where they think they might be especially at risk, some even choose to wear a mask during flu season.  There is no “one size fits all” mandate about the flu, just as there is no mandate for any other contagious or possibly deadly disease. 

                WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON

So why the mask mandates and mask resistance?  Why the call for every citizen to receive a currently experimental vaccine along with a call for vaccine passports and second-class citizenship status for those who are unvaccinated?  Why the daily news stories of the horrors of being sick with Covid without stories of the many who experience little if any discomfort from the virus?  Why the daily fearmongering about Covid?  And why, if all of this is so important for citizens, are border crossers exempted from any testing or vaccination requirements while somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of those crossing and being bussed throughout the country turn out to be Covid positive? 

The answer is that this is a political game that is being played, and while it uses Covid as its game piece, in the end it has little to do with Covid.  

So who are the players in this game?  We have Dr. Fauci and other “scientists” who assert their current theories (anyone who has followed this knows those theories can and have changed and reversed) as if they are absolute fact that must be believed (if you don’t believe them, you are name called as some sort of neanderthal or – oh horror – one of those deplorable conservatives).  

Social media is in the game as it wields its power as censor so that the masses will be delivered only the one “correct” view (that being the view that the social media gods, who are not scientists or doctors, decide is correct). 

The political leaders are of course in the game.  The Democrats, being the party of big government, along with the Socialist Left who believe that government should make all your decisions for you, are of course playing for the mandate and ultimate control over you, your family, your schools, and your body.

The Republicans respond by asserting that government mandates are an overreach and a violation of your freedom, that under our Constitutional government you have control over yourself, your body, your family, your schools.  

The party minions go to battle:  The Left asserting that anyone who does not comply with their demands (vaccine, mask, closures, etc.) is evil and un-American.  The far-Right goes beyond opposing mandates to opposing even the idea of an individual choosing to wear a mask or mask their child. 

This is just crazy.  For the record, I oppose the mandates.  Note that I was for the initial 3 week or so absolute shutdown to slow the spread (not to rid us of the virus).  But after that I believe that we, as free Americans, can make our own decisions about how to live in a world with Covid just as we are free to make our own decisions about the many other ways that we live our lives.  Our decisions have consequences, and we have to live with them, but they are our decisions, not the government’s to make.

Personally, I wear a mask to protect myself in those situations that for me seem to be overly risky.  I make those decisions based on what I know about myself, my health, and the particular situation in which I will be participating.  I believe that every other adult can make those decisions for him or herself and that parents can make those decisions for their children. 

I don’t consider those who see the situation differently to be wrong or crazy or anything else.  I might note that I would make a different decision, but that would be mine and their decision is theirs, and we will both live with the consequences.  I do know that I am sick of being considered as some sort of outcast or pariah by both sides – when I do less than what the Left would mandate or when I do more than what the Right does in its resistance.

                SO WHO WINS THIS POLITICAL COVID GAME?  

In the end I think it is a test of how far we Americans are willing to relinquish our individuality and freedom, of how far we are willing to place those sacred freedoms in the hands of another – of those in power with their own agendas which may or may not be reconcilable with ours. 

Relinquishing one’s freedom to another, even (especially) when one is in fear, whether scientifically justified or not, is a slippery slope because once you give it up you are unlikely to get it back.  And once you have given up one piece of your freedom it becomes easier for those in power to take the next and the next and the next until you have no freedom left.

So, think carefully about where you stand on mandates and masks and vaccines.  When you are given “facts” ask questions, ask for the rest of the facts and the data underlying those facts and alleged conclusions.  Science is not static, but using it to create confusion and fear and to support universal mandates can result in a very static loss of freedom.