The meaning of our masks

For some people wearing a mask in a time of pandemic seems to be an affront to their dignity, an intrusion on their personal freedom, and clear evidence of government overreach. We’ve all seen these folks lurking in the supermarket aisles, breathing on the packaged cookies, coughing on the frozen pizza, manhandling the hamburger, and generally speaking, not yielding an inch to “creeping socialism.”

Maybe it’s time to say out loud what these cloth masks mean. The experts are still determining how much protection they provide to the wearer, so what good are they? Masks, experts agree, protect others from catching an infection from the person wearing the mask.

For us, then, a mask says above all that we’re in this together, “this” being not just a pandemic, but also a country and a local community. The wearer of a mask says to those around him or her: “You matter. I may not know you, but your life has value to me, and I am committed to protecting you against a virus that knows no favorites. I want you and yours to live long and flourish. And I am full of hope that when the time is right, we can talk things over and find some common ground on how to take care of our community and our country.”

It’s striking that most politicians who complain loudly about masks are also those who are most vehement in their opposition to fixing the American healthcare system so that all people are covered, and no one is left out in the rain when a health crisis strikes.  

Nobody likes wearing a mask, but we hope you will wear yours knowing what it stands for: love of country and community and hope for a better future.

Jeanne Duffy, Chair, on behalf of Gettysburg DFA’s Healthcare Task Force and others:

Sandy Busche
Lynn Cairns
Jeff and Mary-Fran Colvin
Tom Deloe
Katy Giebenhain
Carl Goulden
Elaine Jones
Will and Anne Lane
Judy Leslie (DFA Treasurer)
Leon Reed (DFA Chair)
Baird Tipson
Denise Wood (Steering Committee, Communications)