“Everyone should just wear a damn mask,” Republican Senator Marco Rubio told the press on June 24. Rubio’s blunt and sound advice echoed that of the administration’s experts and the overwhelming view of doctors and scientists around the world. Even Republican Governors have begun to fall in line. “I know some people think wearing a mask is inconvenient or an infringement on freedom, but I also know it will keep Texas open,” Republican Governor Greg Abbott stressed on Monday.
But that wisdom and common sense has made little impression on Donald Trump.
While Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a chronicle of ineptitude, narcissism and political myopia, no single aspect of his mismanagement has been more glaring than his continuing disdain for the wearing of masks. Rejecting the advice of his own experts, he has refused to provide a unifying and vitally important example for the country. Worse yet, he has stoked the fires of know-nothings who have sought to turn their personal selfishness into a political cause. They insist that wearing a mask is an infringement or their personal freedom. Well, perhaps it is, but so is wearing a seat belt—and wearing a mask is even more important because it protects others.
Trump has not only refused to be photographed in a mask, he has repeatedly stressed that wearing a mask is “voluntary” and said that he personally chooses not to wear one. (This has provided a stunning contrast with his raptures over hydroxychloroquine, a demonstrably ineffective and in some cases dangerous, treatment for COVID-19.) As a consequence, many of Trump’s base appear to feel that wearing a mask shows disloyalty to the President.
As reported in MarketWatch:
In the second week of April, a week after the CDC recommended all Americans wear face coverings in public, the divide between Democrats and Republicans who said they wear masks at all times when leaving home was fairly narrow, according to an Ipsos/Axios poll.
Some 38% of Democrats and 24% of Republicans at that time said that they wore masks at all times. By the second week of June, some 60% of Democrats and about 34% of Republicans responded they wear masks at all times.
That is the largest difference in mask wearing across all demographics, including household income, age, race and gender, said pollster Chris Jackson, senior vice president for Ipsos Public Affairs.
In early April, “Trump had not made a point of not wearing a mask,” Jackson said. “Once he very clearly did not wear a mask in public, that transmitted a signal that if you’re a good supporter of the president you don’t wear a mask.”
Vice President Pence has been little better. He has been seen in a mask on rare occasions, but more often than not without one, and he has never urged the use of masks. At a press conference on Friday with the Coronavirus Task Force, Pence repeatedly called on the American people to pray for an end to the pandemic, but he never mentioned masks or social distancing. I could not help thinking of an old joke:
A
guy named Joe finds himself in great
difficulty.
His business has gone bust and he’s in serious financial trouble.
He’s so desperate he decides to ask God for help. He begins to
pray…
“God, please help me. I’ve lost my business
and if I don’t get some money, I’m going to lose my house as well.
Please let me win the lotto.”
Lotto night comes and
somebody else wins it.
Joe again prays after several lotto
drawings, but to no avail. Finally he cries out,
“My God, why
have you forsaken me?? I’ve lost my business, my house, and my car.
My wife and children are starving. I don’t often ask you for help and
I have always been a good servant to you. PLEASE just let me win the
lotto this one time so I can get my life back in order.”
Suddenly
there is a blinding flash of light as the heavens open and Joe is
confronted
by the voice of God Himself: “Joe, meet Me halfway on this. Buy
a ticket.”
So, here, God might well say, “Mr. Vice President, meet Me halfway on this. Wear a mask and get your boss to wear one.”
At the same press conference, Pence was asked about Trump’s appearances at rallies in Tulsa and Arizona that, with few masks and little social distancing, resembled giant petri dishes. Pence’s response deserved a 10/10 on a scale of fatuity:
Well I want to remind you again that the freedom of speech and the right to peacefully assemble is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States, and even in a health crisis, the American people don’t forfeit our constitutional rights. In working with state officials as we did in Oklahoma and as we did in Arizona, we’re creating settings where people can choose to participate in the political process and we’ll continue to do that.
Pence should be “reminded” that the right of freedom of speech and assembly are not absolute, but have always been subject to limitations based on public safety. Quite apart from that, the fact that one may have the right to act in a reckless and irresponsible fashion does not suggest that it is a good idea to do so.
America’s failure to deal effectively with the pandemic has not gone unnoticed by our adversaries and our one-time allies. The European Union is reportedly considering a ban on visitors from the United States. And no wonder:
Donald Trump has managed to give an entirely new—and pathetic—meaning to “American Exceptionalism.” Trump has frequently claimed without evidence that the world was laughing at us about this or that. If so, they are now not laughing at us, so much as crying for us and wondering how a great nation so wealthy in talent and resources could have put itself in such a dire and humbling position.
Personally, I do not enjoy wearing a mask, but I would not think of going without one in any setting where social distancing is not practical. And they are available in various designs, including support of one’s favorite teams.
If only Trump had thought it through, he could have had MAGA masks to complement those ubiquitous MAGA caps. Perhaps that is possible even now, if Trump experiences a Road to Damascus conversion. Breath should not be held.
Late Breaking News: On Sunday afternoon, at a televised meeting with Texas Governor Abbott, both Vice President Pence and Dr. Deborah Birx strongly urged the wearing of masks. Unfortunately, the meeting was carried on CNN and MSNBC, but not Fox News, so Trump may not hear about it.
Doug – I wonder if those who want the personal freedom to jeopardize those near them, by not wearing a mask, wont mind if someone wants to fire a rifle or cry ” fire” in the full movie theater where they are, You have to add selfishness to stupidity. to their self-description. We need to get rid of Trump. He is a danger. Tom
Thomas Hobbes, said; “Hell is truth seen too late, so see the truth and avoid Hell.”
VOTE IN NOVEMBER!
Claiming that wearing a face mask is an infringement on your rights and freedom makes as much sense as claiming you have the right to drive 80 in a school zone. As a society we pass laws that infringement upon people’s rights all the time for the good of that same society.
I have learned when I see people without face masks to remember that they probably are Trump supporters exercising their God-given right to be stupid.
Be safe, be well and vote in November!
Hi Doug,
Neat picture! With a Stetson on your head , you could be the Lone Rinoger.
As I recall, Tonto did not wear a mask either
Maybe MR. Trump is honoring his Native American heritage. Ooops, that was Ms Warren
He and Ms Warren could pow wow around the Blue Coal sponsors campsite.
Hi O Silver…Get em up Scout
Not wearing a mask is dumb, dumb, dumb and dummer!
Not only is he setting a very poor example, if he gets COVID and withdraws from the Presidential race, we get MR. Pence.
All the anti Trump stuff goes pooof and Joey and Pence can duke it out.
Bob
Yes, Doug, there is a cohort of our population for whom ‘freedom’ means ‘my way all the way, any way, every way; your way be damned.’ It’s a failure of our education system when even a minority of the electorate believe the rights enumerated in our Bill of Rights are all absolute at all times.
Although a child of Chicago, I’m not a Cubs fan – preferred White Sox – but love your photo. Wonder how many folks in Ojai get it. I have a photo of a young person I’d love to send you. Text reads – ‘So me, wearing a bulletproof backpack to a school with metal detectors, armed guards and routine mass-shooter drills is “the price of freedom”…but you, wearing a mask in Walmart for 10 minutes is “tyranny”. Shall I send it?
Send it !
I no longer say good morning to those I pass on the public pathways who aren’t wearing masks. I merely hold my nose (over my mask), keep my mouth shut, and stay far away. Maybe they’ll get the message. Maybe not.
Thanks for doing your part to try to end this insanity. Unfortunately, too many people are still clinging to those early proclamations that “masks don’t work,” and many people seem especially vulnerable to conspiracy theories about reb-breathing their own CO2, etc. We’ve been on this self-destructive trajectory since 2016. Here’s hoping November puts us on the upswing.
Doug, as you know, we often differ on viewpoints. But I am 100% with you on this one. Speechless that our country’s leaders, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, could set this dangerous example.
Comments are closed.