What price freedom

Note: I actually penned this a couple of weeks ago and held off to make additional edits. In light of Michigan Gov. Whitmer’s executive order requiring people to wear masks or risk a fine, I decided to publish this on my blog, along with a graphic photo that helps make a point about choices we make. I make no apologies about the photo.

At the start of 2020 who could have anticipated that a piece of cloth would polarize our society and lead to angry and, sometimes, violent confrontations? The mask has become a flash point dividing people over the interpretation of what freedom means in this day and age of our country, even our world.

Yes, armed citizens marched early on during the pandemic, screaming for access to their boats, cottages and other toys. Yes, people bemoaned the inability to get a haircut or manicure from their favorite salon.

Yet, it was the mask, that simple piece of cloth that covers nose and mouth that has spawned the most vitriolic debate.

I come from a generation that grew up watching M*A*S*H, that legendary TV series featuring heroic but human nurses and surgeons trying to stitch together the mangled soldiers fighting the Korean War. Surgical masks were a necessary part of their daily lives, shielding them from blood and other bodily fluids.

The mask was just one piece of what I considered a superhero’s outfit. Nurses and doctors needed no capes and colorful designs to telegraph how cool they were. Their uniform included a gown, gloves, hat and, of course, a mask. That was cool enough for me, as I sat down each week to watch M*A*S*H with my parents.

While I didn’t pursue a medical career, my fascination with the medical field did not waver. Where my peers spent time reading comic books featuring Superman, Wonder Woman and The Hulk, I devoured TV shows featuring nurses and doctors. Remember Quincy? How about St. Elsewhere? Later in life, I fell for House and his all-too-human/superhuman proclivities.

The point of all of this is that the surgical mask once meant something in society. It was a symbol, representing the brave and tireless nurses and doctors who gave of their time and lives to heal and save others. Today, it is an annoyance, imposition on our freedoms and trigger for “Karens” and “Kens” to shout and throw groceries around a store because they were asked to respect the simple request to wear a mask.

This is disheartening and alarming. What we are witnessing is an entitlement mentality rooted in protecting one’s own freedom at the expense of others. The anti-maskers openly defy orders and requests because they don’t believe the pandemic is a threat greater than the common flu. They disregard the mounting evidence that masks are part of a multi-layered approach to flattening the curve. And, they refuse to acknowledge that some of their kindred spirits are starting to see the wisdom in covering up.

I get it. I was like that but it was many years ago. I was in college and I refused to wear a seat belt. During a summer internship at a weekly paper in West Michigan, I changed my tune. It wasn’t the mounting data supporting seat belt use. It was a car accident that jarred me to reality. Responding to a rollover on US 31 north of Muskegon, the police let me close enough to see the overturned car and the lifeless remains of the driver, who was thrown from the vehicle. I buckled up on my way back to the newspaper office, and have done so ever since.

I don’t know what it will take to get people to see the reality confronting all of us. The death of a loved one from the coronavirus? We need to take this pandemic seriously and look out for each other. Our individual and collective freedoms are at stake. When you walk into a store and refuse to wear a mask, you put other people at risk and threaten their own freedoms. Wearing a mask is a sign of respect for others. You wear the mask to protect me. I wear the mask to protect you.

Freedom is not free. Never has been. Never will be. Freedom requires some sacrifice. We may chafe at the laws and rules that govern our lives but we are free to elect and remove the people who put those laws into place. Open defiance, while impressive for your Facebook or Instagram posts, can put the welfare of others at risk.

For example, there’s a general understanding that if a stop sign is erected at a street corner, we should obey it and stop before proceeding. Yes, some people will do a rolling stop and others will zip through with nary a concern for anyone else. But there are consequences for violating the law.

Is it too much to ask people to be considerate and think about the welfare of others? Are we that selfish that safety is secondary to personal or political interests? Our actions affect everyone around us.

The choices we make have repercussions and consequences.

Look closely at the photo. That poor person made a choice to not wear a seatbelt. Granted, it was their freedom to wear it or not, but the decision had deadly consequences.

It’s been more than 30 years and that scene has never left my mind. It’s a graphic reminder that I - we - can make safety a priority for everyone.

It’s that simple.