I have been surprised — no, more like stunned — at all of the uproar from some folks regarding being asked to wear a mask when they are out in public. You know, like inside a store or something of the sort, where a good number of people are likely to be gathered together in hopes the mask will knock down the flow of germs to help quell the spread of Corona. 

Through gritted teeth these folks have announced to the world that they will not wear a mask in a store, they will not wear one through a door, they will not wear one any more, Sam I Am. 

I use “Sam I Am” because that references a famous work by Dr. Seuss, a famous author of books for children. And forgive me, but children are precisely what some folks who are stomping their feet, holding their breath, and pitching a fit about being asked to wear a mask are acting like. 

Inexplicably, these particular folks are refusing to wear a mask not because of any real physical issues (which some legitimately have, and that’s different), but mainly because they are convinced being asked to do so is part of some kind of mind control experiment set forth by dark forces organized by Bill Gates.

I suppose all of that will eventually lead to donning aluminum foil hats to block sinister brain penetrating mind waves from UFOs and/or Uranus, but I digress.

I am actually quite thankful the foil-hatters among us don’t really start analyzing their daily lives for things they regularly do already that also may suggest some kind of mind control — things like driving on the right side of the road or wearing a seatbelt, heaven forbid. Hard to imagine the unnecessary damage that might precipitate.

Those can’t be things that have been put in place to help protect people, can they? No no, surely they must be motivated by some kind of Biblical prophecy foretelling the end of all times, right? 

I say that, because that’s what I have been told (by adults) is at the root of the request by health officials for people to wear masks when they are in public places. 

I know you think I am kidding, but I couldn’t make something like this up. 

There are people — adults, mind you — among us 100% convinced that being asked to wear a mask is connected to an evil plot to inject micro-chips into all of us via a Covid vaccine being developed by Gates, which is connected to a coin shortage that is part of an evil plot to create a cashless society,  which is connected to an evil plot that will ultimately lead to a new world order that will see America dissolved and the world under the direction of one super government, all connected back to the evil micro-chip plot that actually somehow represents the mark of the beast referenced in the Bible. 

Again, I am not capable of making this up. I have had this precise scenario described to me by adults who live in our community — who actually questioned my intelligence when I asked if they were serious. 

So here’s what I want to ask the people howling the most about “having” to wear a mask: are you pro-life? I mean are you really, truly pro-life?

Think a minute before you answer that.

While the mortality rate from Covid is diminishing for whatever reasons, there are real human beings among us now who are far more vulnerable to catching it and potentially dying from it than others. So if we’re going to claim ourselves to be pro-life because we want to protect those who can’t defend themselves yet unborn, then how can we not want to protect those most vulnerable who are already among us? Does their right to life not matter any less than that unborn human? 

What exactly would be the difference there? I’ll wait for an explanation that doesn’t involve Area 51. 

My daughter has a compromised immune system, and I would hope out of respect to her and our family others would wear a mask if for nothing else to make her feel more confident about being out and able to live her life like everyone else. She’s not alone. 

But actually being considerate and having empathy for others? Is that kind of courtesy and respect too old fashioned to even be possible today? Are we so selfish, so politically polarized and/or zealots of every single conspiracy theory that comes along that showing that kind of basic courtesy and respect to other human beings is viewed as some kind of sign of weakness?

And if that is the case, who exactly in this equation is being played like a cheap fiddle? 

Again, stop and think a minute before you answer that. 

And don’t tell me your “liberty” is threatened here. My liberty is just as valid as yours, and yours ends where mine begins. If you have a legitimate physical issue with wearing a mask (as I do), then so be it. But to blame your unwillingness to lend a hand of support to others on a conspiracy? Be better than that, OK? 

We better all do some heart and soul searching, because I fear too many of us have let ours wander away from us. Showing other human beings courtesy, empathy, consideration, and even a touch of compassion isn’t part of some kind of apocalyptic conspiracy — it’s a basic part of being a decent human being. 

Or, should I say, at least it used to be.