The Mask

Living behind "The Mask"

One year has passed in Europe since the mask became a mandated part of our reality and much like a virus the infection of fear spread quickly throughout the world.  The population has been divided on the issue since it was introduced.  Logistically in the beging of the pandemic it made total sense to mask up, but month after month as more data has emerged the science of "why" no longer rings true.

With constant conflicting stories regarding the effectiveness of mask wearing people in general have become weary from all the confusion and rightfully so.  I don't recall any other situation we've face where less common sense has been excercised. In fact in the beginning I was all for the initial lock down and mask mandates; why not, this was something we had never faced before.  But now we are facing nothing.  We have lost our faces, our identity and our voices behind these mask.

I suppose the future of fashion will be funky hats or unique tshirts to designate who we are.  The days of recognizing someones face seem long gone, now we only see the color statement mask or the sterile white sheilds covering half our faces.  On the otherhand if you are a shy person you should be living your best life incognito.

All joking aside, what have we become during this pandemic? Fearful of our neighbors and friends? Absolutely yes!  Months passes before my family would come around me even though I had tested negative twice.  They were in such fear over the virus that they put their lives on hold; no guest, no family time and definitely no fresh air.  Seems like a recipe for a lower immune system, right? 

Even now almost a year into this insanity, people still keep more than the distance on the sidewalks or when passing others in the store.  I get it and it definitely is with in your rights to do so, but I think at this point we can all agree that at some point we will or have come into contact with this virus.  It's not a new virus after all, it's been around longer than we have.  Yet something about mortality makes us panic.  Death is inevitable just like taxes, both will come and you will pay the piper, so why all the fuss.

The other question on my mind with friends of different belief systems has been, "where is your faith"?  If one believes in a higher power they must believe in life after death in some form, so what's all the worry?  As for me I believe in fate, if it's meant to be it will be, regardless of my wanting or not wanting to deal with it.  With respect for others I wear the mask in public, but make no mistake I will not hide behind it.

Who would have thought a simple surgical mask could silence the world!