September Column Winner

If everyone wore a mask, we would know they cared

By Jeff Mullin, Enid News & Eagle 

If everyone wore a mask … 
I know it’s a pipe dream, a fantasy, a unicorn, a totally unrealistic, unattainable goal. 
But we can dream, can’t we? 
Some sort of mask mandate won’t happen in Enid, we know that — his honor the mayor told us so this past week. 
It won’t happen in our state, either — the governor has made that abundantly clear any number of times. And the president, well the president wouldn’t dream of mandating masks unless Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and the editorial boards of both the New York Times and the Washington Post suddenly came out firmly against mask-wearing. 
But what if? What if people hadn’t decided that it somehow infringed on their rights and freedoms as flag-loving, tax-paying Americans if they were tasked with wearing a mask? What if wearing a mask hadn’t become so politicized? What if masks had not become seen as symbols of mindless conformity, of fear, of lemming- like following of the madding crowd? 
If everyone wore a mask, there would be a lot less sad people in our city, our state, our nation. Because there would be more people still with us, still walking the earth, still loving and living and taking nourishment. Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told CNN that if everyone wore a face mask when they were in public and in close contact with other people, we could save 66,000 lives between now and the end of the year. That’s just a few thousand more than the population of Garfield County. 
Imagine every house, every street, every store, every restaurant, every part of our fair city, empty. Now imagine them full again. Mask, no mask, that’s the difference. 
There will be many empty chairs at many tables this holiday season, in no small part because many people refuse to wear masks. 
If everyone wore a mask, college football season would be in full swing in Oklahoma. We wouldn’t be stuck with a truncated, makeshift season with smaller crowds, less atmosphere. There will be no visiting bands and spirit squads at Big 12 football games this year. Oh, and there will be no homecoming celebrations at both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Mask, no mask, that’s the difference.
If everybody wore a mask, we would be closer to having a normal school year, not the patchwork, piecemeal mess we are in the midst of right now. Some learning is virtual, some is in person, and many teachers and students find themselves in quarantine because of the continued spread of the virus. 
If everyone wore a mask, we would be closer to being able to go out to a restaurant whenever we felt like it. Of course many people are doing that anyway, but for those of us in the higher- risk category (read, old), we are stuck with takeout and drive-through. Mask, no mask, that’s the difference. 
If everyone wore a mask, we’d be closer to traveling again, to hopping a plane, booking a hotel and going somewhere exotic. My bride and I took a ride through east Enid the other day, which while it was a change of scenery is hardly exotic. 
Many other countries don’t want us to visit them, for one thing. Americans are banned from going to many places in the world right now, like Canada, France and Germany. Mask, no mask, that’s the difference. 
If everyone wore a mask, we’d be closer to being able to go back to church, to be able to fully enjoy the fellowship and bonhomie that attending church entails, without all the elbow-bumping, no hugging, don’t sit too close restrictions that exist now. 
Some churches require or at least strongly suggest the wearing of masks for services. Some seem to be firmly in the anti-mask camp, which is puzzling, since the great commandment, laid out in Mark 22:36-39, says “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 
Above all else, wearing a mask shows love and concern for your neighbor. A mask will help protect you from catching the virus, but more importantly it also helps prevent you from giving it to someone else. If everyone wore a mask, we would know that people actually cared more about others than they do themselves. Mask, no mask, that’s the difference. 
If everyone wore a mask, we would be that much closer to getting this pandemic under control. But still the number of cases continues to rise daily, as do the number of deaths. Mask, no mask, that’s the difference. 
But a mask mandate is a dead issue in Enid, as well as in the state as a whole. Cities that have enacted mask mandates have seen their coronavirus numbers drop, but that’s OK, we are exercising our rights not to give a flip about our fellow man. 
Please wear a mask, but if you don’t, that’s OK, we understand. You just don’t care. Mask, no mask, that’s the difference.