CARLTON FLETCHER: Forget conspiracy theories … wear the damned mask

On the surface, it’s just silliness, this conscious decision many have made not to wear masks in public, even in the face of an uptick in coronavirus cases.

But it’s really deeper than that. The decision not to cover up in public places puts others at risk. And that makes it one of the most selfish acts imaginable.

The arguments against wearing masks range from ill-informed to obstinate to outlandish. But listening to the excuses people make for not doing so is akin to sitting in on a gathering of the local chapter of Liars Club International.

“Science has proved that wearing masks does nothing to alleviate the spread of the virus …” “The election’s over now, so on Inauguration Day, the virus will magically disappear and everything will be fine …” “The virus was nothing more than a hoax dreamed up by some politicians who wanted to attack the sitting president …” “I’m a ‘Merican; no one can tell me what to do.”

Geez, you’d think people who make these spurious arguments were being asked to do something that violated their freedom, that made it difficult for them to function, that made them less of a human being … or less of a ‘Merican.

It’s a piece of cloth over your nose and mouth. It doesn’t impede your breathing, doesn’t make you a better Republican or Democrat, doesn’t change your appearance in any way that detracts from your natural beauty.

We in southwest Georgia got an up-close-and-personal look at the devastation the coronavirus wrought early in the pandemic. Our hospital system was overwhelmed; people were dying right and left, and there was a palpable fear that hung over our region like a pall. Listening to the urgings of people who were in the process of learning about the virus, we kept our social distance, we washed our hands obsessively. And we wore masks.

And, almost magically — but never fast enough for the families whose members had the virus — the numbers started going downward. When they did all over the country, we eased up on our concern and started back doing the things we did pre-COVID.

Now, though, there is cause for concern. Numbers are rising at an alarming rate. There is talk of a second, more devastating wave. And some government agencies are warning residents to prepare for a pandemic the likes of which we’ve never seen.

And, yet, some people still refuse to wear masks? They’re convinced — by people they idolize but who have no concern for them whatsoever — that this virus thing is a political ploy. And, now that the man who led them to believe such dangerous hogwash has been voted out of office, they refuse to wear masks in defiance of those who voted against him and in continued fealty to a man who wouldn’t miss a minute’s sleep if they all spent the next several weeks on a ventilator, fighting for their lives.

Or they’ve read on the internet some outlandish “scientific discovery” that proves the virus is neither prevented not slowed by masks, that the call to wear them is little more than a ploy that is equal parts mind control and mass hysteria.

And then there are the folks who bought into the political hype that, in order to assure voters leaning a certain way, an antidote is on the verge of mass production and will magically make this virus go away in a matter of days.

There is no failsafe vaccine on the immediate horizon, although some are being tested now. There will be no magical wiping out of the virus “hoax” once the new president is safely ensconced, having used the hoax to win the election. And there is nothing that indicates — no matter what website you go to — this virus is any less dangerous than it was when our region was one of itsepicenters.

No one’s trying to con you. No one’s trying to take away your liberty. No one’s trying to take control of you.

Just put the damned mask on.