A Mask and a Shot

I recently submitted an essay to my editor titled, The Uncivil War, which compared our current societal conflicts with those which produced the Civil War. Her comments, like always, were not the product of emotion but of simple pragmatic critique. In regard to my essay, she commented, “Far too wordy, condescending in tone, and really just a speech to an already existing agreeable choir”. I had spent a long time on this particular piece and so I vigorously defended my prose. But once I was alone and turned my now freshly cleared critical lens on my work, I found her feedback to be brutally accurate.

In a devious attempt to draw people into the substantive trap of my essay, I focused on giving a condensed history lesson of the evolution of the American flag. I then made some comparisons between our current social divide and the fracturing of the United States which culminated in the Civil War. I was trying to lure those who use the flag as a symbol of American freedom and those who hold the rights of the individual above all else into the web of my story right before I hit them over the head with the flag pole. My aim was to use history and dry logic to shame those who disagree with my beliefs concerning the handling of the Covid pandemic. But after hearing my editor’s harsh criticism of my work, I came to the realization that it was a better use of my time to point out the commonalities which exist on both sides of this issue and how all of us have been duped into being so divided.

As I stepped back from my pulpit to take a deeper look at some of the research I did concerning the Civil War, one statistic jumped out at me. According to the Census of 1860, approximately 6% of the citizens of the Confederacy actually owned slaves and only a total of 31% of the population of the South had direct familial connection to slave ownership. That metric illuminates the fact that 69% of the population went to war and sent thousands of their sons to die for something that only peripherally affected their lives. It caused me to wonder why they would choose to die to maintain the institution of slavery when they did not own any or stand to lose anything from emancipation. This is where the most obvious correlation between the Civil War and the current pandemic lies. The fight in this country is not one for the defense of liberty and personal freedom. On the contrary, it is one which is waged by Americans against Americans who are all victims of misinformation and self-serving leadership.

When a crime is committed, those responsible for solving it and finding the culprits usually begin their investigation with the most primary of elements, motive. During the Civil War, a majority of Southerners were conned into a mindset of fear concerning what would transpire if slavery was abolished. They were told that it would end their way of life; that slaves were less than human; that the freed slaves would act out vengefully on all white citizens; that the Federal government wanted to control their lives and narrow their rights granted by the Constitution; and finally that it would be cruel to free the slave population because they were incapable of taking care of themselves. The Southern leadership who in many cases were slave owners and directly beholden to all those who owned slaves put forth these lies in order to maintain power. It was a crime of purposeful deception and hundreds of thousands of people died.

Like then, today a similar and ongoing crime is being committed against all of us. The motivation is clear and obvious: greed and a lust for power. History will eventually show the handling of the current Covid pandemic as just another example of a misinformation campaign designed to divide and distract. Without constructive plans to reach a better future the powers that be have made the political calculation that if they can keep us divided, they can maintain their positions of control. All those who simply want to cling to power feed us lies and confusion to pit us against each other. All of us separated by conjured dissension, mired in frustration and ultimately ruled by fear have lost sight of our underlying common interests. When I take a calm look at the confusion which has been purposely fostered by those who gain from societal division, it is clear that those who oppose my position are not my enemy but like me, victims of the crime of deception. The truly sad analogous consequence is that, as with the Civil War, we take false and misplaced negative feelings out on each other, stay divided and, in that fragmented condition, hundreds of thousands of us have once again died.

There have been moments in my life as I am sure there have been in everyone’s life when I was not sure if action needed to be taken. I once left my house after ironing a shirt and could not remember if I had unplugged the iron. On a couple of occasions, I walked away from my car and could not remember if I had locked it. In these instances, I thought for a moment and tried to convince myself that the iron was turned off and the car locked. But then I thought what if I was wrong. The consequences could be dire; the house could burn down or the car could be ransacked or stolen. So, motivated by these possible horrible outcomes that could result from my inaction I went back to check. Upon my return I found that all was as it should be and that there was never any danger to be averted. However, I did not feel silly for taking action because of nagging unsureness. I felt satisfied and relieved that I had made the small effort to make sure that I had unplugged the iron and locked the car.

This brings me to what I have to say concerning the Covid pandemic and more specifically the wearing of masks and getting vaccinated. Just to be clear, I don’t really know if masks or social distancing contributes to personal safety and the protection of others. I do believe in science but there are so many messages about the Covid vaccine I cannot speak with certainty regarding its true effectiveness. I am not worried about my own health or possibility of demise because I am quite healthy. But the reality is that wearing a mask and getting a shot, just like walking back to check on my house or car, are not difficult things to do and require very little personal sacrifice. So I will wear a mask and I am vaccinated to possibly enhance my personal health, to shield me from future guilt, to protect others from harm, and for the good all. My message to those who oppose masks and vaccinations is not that you are ignorant or ridiculous but that you have been purposely misled into taking an unnecessary risk that could adversely affect you and all those you love. The bottom line is this, contrary to those who attempt to divide us with self-serving conspiracy theories and deception, wearing a mask and getting a shot does not portend the erosion of liberty and the eventual end of personal freedom. What these two small affirmative actions do provide is the rare opportunity for each of us to positively affect the world and possibly save someone’s life.