Wearing a mask should be a choice

By Caleb Smith

 Before I start, I would like to plainly state that this is my opinion, and in no way represents scientific evidence for or against the wearing of masks in relation to the reduced spread of COVID-19 or any other illness. These words are simply my thoughts and observations from my life on CSC’s campus and around town.   

With that said, at CSC I am involved heavily with several clubs, an on-campus job and one varsity sport. Though I am far from connected to the whole campus. 

However, I do come in contact with a wide variety of people. Many of these people share the same opinion on the continued use of masks – that we should stop wearing them. 

Furthermore, based on my observations and conversations with co-workers and fellow students, at this point very few true believers in the continued wearing of masks remain. In fact, many people oppose them behind closed doors. 

Unfortunately, these people fear costly repercussions if they openly rejected the use of masks. 

Need proof? Just look around at how people act at church, in a restaurant or at a wedding. How many people there are not wearing masks? How many of these people would tell me to put one on if we were on campus? 

Likely you may have seen people not wearing masks in public who would tell you to wear one on campus. The reality is these campus enforcers do not actually believe in wearing masks. 

But they do fear losing their jobs, being denied access to resources and generally being treated as an outcast for not wearing a mask. Thus, they put aside personal beliefs, sacrifice individuality for conformity and pull the cloth across their face to ensure false safety against a virus they do not fear.  

I want to be clear that I do not place the blame for this situation on anyone who may be required to enforce policies that they disagree with to maintain employment or status. 

I do however place the blame on the system itself, the machine, that pushes down individuals until we forget what we truly believe in for fear of becoming some kind of criminal.  

I do not care if anyone chooses to wear a mask, but I think that is a choice that should be left up to the individual and not decided by the school or any other government establishment.  

I, for one, am tired of society forcing ideas I disagree with upon me, and I think the time has come to ask our government and society some questions. Like, how far are you going push the individual, how long is long will you constrain our liberties, and is it time for us to stand up?