Dear fellow Americans, shut up and wear your mask.
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Wearing a mask should NOT be a choice. When the United States has the most coronavirus cases, wearing a mask should NOT be a choice. When there has been a 90% increase in the amount of coronavirus cases among children in the U.S. over the last four weeks, according to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association, wearing a mask should NOT be a choice.
How many times does the CDC have to say that wearing a mask can decrease the spread of the virus? Imagine if your friend brought a convicted murderer to your home and defended it by saying “it’s my choice.”
Imagine how the faculty and staff at Georgia Institute of Technology felt when they learned that masks were not going to be required but “strongly encouraged” in their plan to reopen. More than 800 out of 1,110 faculty members rightfully published a letter listing their grievances about the university’s reopening plan. Professor Janet Murray, the lead signatory of the letter, had this to say about Georgia Tech’s reopening plan:
“such a flagrant violation of the science that it threatens our core identity as a world class research university with leading scientists and engineers. It’s a nightmare for faculty.”
As wonderful as teachers and professors are, they are not superhuman. They have lives to live, families to feed, and health to protect. It is a slap in the face to reopen schools and have masks heavily “encouraged” during a pandemic. With cases in children and adults increasing like this, this country has surpassed the need for “encouragement.” If a person truly loves their country, they would do anything to protect it, which at this point in time, is wearing a mask.
Meanwhile, tax dollars are being wasted on a foolish lawsuit against Georgia Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. On July 16th, Kemp decided to sue Mayor Keisha Bottoms because of her mask mandate. Kemp claims this lawsuit is on behalf of struggling Atlanta businesses and their employees. Well, they’ll certainly be struggling if their employees are dead, but I guess that’s neither here nor there. Mayor Keisha Bottoms decided to finally mandate masks in public settings after learning that she and her family were among the 106,000 Georgians who tested positive for COVID-19 in July.
Unfortunately, President Trump is among those weak and careless people, who do not take wearing a mask seriously. Several officials in President Trump’s circle have contracted the virus, yet his attitude towards the virus is so cavalier.
Granted, President Trump claims he wears his mask outside of the public eye, when social distancing isn’t an option, with people who prefer him to wear one, and he recently tweeted a picture of himself wearing a mask. But his complete disregard for the health of the workers and officials at a Ford plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan can’t go unnoticed. On May 21st, President Trump disregarded the plant’s rules that those in the facility must wear a mask when he was touring it. A company spokesperson also confirmed that Ford, the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, “encouraged President Trump to wear a mask when he arrived.” When a reporter asked why he wasn’t wearing a mask, he responded “not necessary.” He then went on to assure them that he’d been tested that morning, which means absolutely nothing because studies have proven that a person can get reinfected with the virus.
If you’re the president of a country with the most COVID-19 cases, I would think you’d want to wear your mask in public and at press conferences to lead by example. What are you saying to your country when you actively disregard the health of others in an effort to appear strong and stick it to the media?
Although President Trump is constantly tweeting about reopening schools, his son, Barron, won’t be having a face-to-face experience at his school. While he’s tweeting about reopening schools, St. Andrews Episcopal, the Maryland private school where his son attends, is among those under county orders to stay closed. If masks are so “unnecessary” like he claims, then why doesn’t he send Barron to school with bleach and hand sanitizer with the rest of the general public?
Personally, I don’t expect a man who said he didn’t know people actually died from the flu to understand or care about the seriousness behind wearing a mask in the time of a national pandemic. Yes, you read that correctly. President Trump said this during a visit to the CDC Headquarters in Atlanta, GA.
President Trump can not make America great if he does not realize that there is no strength or bravery in being willfully ignorant, arrogant, and careless. He is entirely aware that America has the most cases, yet he acts as if we have the least. Being a leader means doing what is right for the people you are leading. With the U.S. leading in COVID-19 cases, Trump should find no problem with logging on Twitter and telling people to wear a mask. Unfortunately, that takes true strength and integrity.
