Over the Fence: Unmasking Choice Vs. Courtesy

Unmasking Choice Vs. Courtesy

Idrive a truck. Not a huge truck, just a regular half-ton 4x4 pickup. In fact, I’ve driven a truck most of my life. Since I was 16 to be exact. It seems that I’m always hauling something or pulling a trailer or picking up various building materials. I’m at Lowe’s loading my truck bed with project materials so often that my phone’s GPS isn’t quite sure where home is anymore. When I pull into a parking spot out there it isn’t uncommon to be between two other trucks. The thing about trucks, which you may have noticed, is that they have large side-view mirrors to assist with trailer towing. Unfortunately, they are not very easy to maneuver around when you are parked next to them trying to open your door to walk by without bumping into them.

That’s why automobile manufacturers developed folding mirrors for pickups. I click a button, the mirrors fold in and voila, life is easier and even a little bit safer for folks parking next to me. All it requires is a small inconvenience on my part. It’s a courtesy, really. It’s not so much to help me as the truck owner. It helps those in neighboring parking places.

Years ago during a torrential rain and wind storm a giant elm tree fell and blocked the road leading to the back of our neighborhood; a truly unfortunate incident. But what made it worse was that only a week prior to this storm a neighbor had been sick enough

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to require the service of an ambulance. I could see this fallen tree from my window and became concerned for my neighbor. What if an ambulance was called while this tree was blocking the road? I called another neighbor and we put our rain gear on and went out into the storm with chainsaws and cleared the road… just in case. Clearing the road offered me no direct benefit. However, a little inconvenience on my part was a gesture of goodwill toward my sick neighbor. It was me doing my part for the greater good… even though I didn’t necessarily have to.

I don’t tell these stories to convince you that I’m a great guy. I tell them to make what I hope is a timely point. Covid-19 has changed our world, perhaps forever. Positive cases are on the rise. For some who test positive, their symptoms are simply like the common cold. For others, their symptoms are quite severe, at times requiring hospitalization. There is still so much more to be learned about this virus, but one thing we know is that social distancing and wearing masks slows down its spread. It’s true, these methods aren’t 100% effective at preventing the spread. But microbiologists, epidemiologists and medical doctors in no uncertain terms have been informing us that these methods are our best chance to slow the spread and dramatically limit infections.

The point of contention seems to be whether or not governments at various levels should be able to mandate the wearing of masks. Does it limit freedom of choice? Is it violating personal liberties? What is the greater good? I’ve heard arguments on all sides. No one likes being told to do something. I get it. I would rather make the right choice than be told to do so. But what happens when the freedom of my choice possibly limits someone else’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? What if me exercising my freedom to not wear a mask inadvertently leads to the infection of a fellow community member? Whose opinion governs when my rights bring harm to you? This is the classic question of how do we balance the responsibility we have to ourselves vs. the responsibility

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we have to our fellow man.

The casual observer has probably noticed that over the past few weeks as positive cases have risen so have the number of folks wearing masks in public spaces. What we have been told by medical professionals is that mask wearing offers little if any benefit for ourselves. The real benefit is for the people we come in contact with. Choosing the mask isn’t for us, it’s for our neighbors. For me, it’s a small inconvenience to possibly protect another’s right to life and happiness. For me, it’s what loving my neighbor as myself looks like in a pandemic. Whether it’s folding my mirrors, clearing a road, or wearing a mask, enjoying my rights must always be weighed against how the outcomes of those rights affect my neighbors. For me, I choose to wear the mask.

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