Wear a mask in public.
It could save lives.

You and I are part of nature.

We receive all of life’s necessities from nature – food, water, air, shelter, space. 

Yet, nature does not care one bit about you, me – anyone.

It is a well-known scientific fact that parasites and predators want to feed upon your body – no matter who you are and be you alive or be you dead. Viruses and other harmful microorganisms want only to use your flesh as an incubator for their multitudinous offspring – all without asking your consent. All these things are proof nature does not “care” about any of us and that we are just another animal, another cog in the wheel, another strand in the web of life – we are bound together with, interconnected to, and a lifelong part of nature. You cannot change this fact no matter how hard you try, wish, pray, pontificate, or profess.

Nature does not need us. We need nature.

This is why it is up to you and you alone to care for yourself, for your loved ones, and for all the other human beings you share this thing called life with.

SARS CoV2 (COVID-19/Coronavirus), and all microorganisms for that matter, do not “care” about you, your politics, your beliefs, your thoughts, wants, needs, or desires, nor do “they” “care” about your life, your health, or the health or lives of your loved ones. “They” only “want” to use your body as an incubator to grow more of their kind with the only “goal” being to propagate their species.  Therefore, if you do not take any precautions to limit the spread of deadly viruses (and bacteria), they will gladly walk in the “front door,” pay you a visit, and use your body to infect more innocent people. In other words, if you do not take the well known Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) precautions recommended by infectious disease experts that greatly limit the spread of germs – it will not be the government that has control over you as some may believe – it will be the armies of uncaring microscopic germs. 

Just like opening the windows without the barrier of a window screen will let in all manner of flies, gnats, mosquitoes, etc – leaving the “front door” of your mouth and nose open by not wearing a mask is essentially rolling out the red carpet to microscopic invaders.

If you choose to throw down the welcome mat and give germs the easy “front door” access of unwashed hands and an unprotected, uncovered mouth and nose, they will eventually make their way inside, set up camp, hijack your body, and use it as a “germ factory” to make more of their kind – simply because you choose to ignore the recommendations of the experts and have openly invited them in the “front door.”  Had you chosen the relatively simple actions of keeping yourself clean and wearing a mask when in public as barriers to their entrance, it would have effectively closed and locked the front door thereby stopping their easy and unobstructed entrance into your body. 

Thought Experiment: If local authorities put out a warning over media outlets that a dangerous and potentially deadly burglar had been seen prowling the neighborhood breaking into easily accessible homes – would you then invite the armed burglar into your home by leaving the front door open?

No, of course not. You would close and lock the door, increase your security measures, bolster your defenses, be vigilant and on the lookout for odd activity, and hopefully, the burglar would ignore your shielded home and pass you by in his search for a more unprotected, open, and inviting home to mount his attack.

Then why are some people freely choosing to lower their defenses and invite armies of microscopic armed “health burglars” into their bodies to steal their health and for some, their lives…it makes no sense at all. 

Do the right thing – close and lock your body’s front door by choosing to wear a mask in public places and by washing your hands frequently.  

But please be aware: even if you are wearing a mask, stay a safe distance away from those not wearing masks in public places, and be vigilant.

The actions of some of those who choose to not wear masks in public suggest to me that a percentage of the individuals who are anti-mask may also be anti-common sense and anti-science. These unmasked people are increasing their odds and your odds of contracting or spreading the virus and are therefore they are potentially harming themselves, their loved ones, and other innocent people by blatantly ignoring the reasoned and knowledgeable recommendations of the planet’s infectious disease experts.

A small percentage of those choosing to ignore the facts aren’t just anti-mask, anti-science, and anti-common sense – they are careless, heartless, hateful, self-centered, very dangerous individuals who are just plain mean. These lunatic fringe dwelling bullies have been observed sneezing, coughing, and spitting on those who choose to wear masks and even taunting mask wearers with hateful words and even COVID-19 “chants” – WTF is the matter with these people? It seems some humans have truly fallen off the cliffs of insanity and are on the way to the jagged rocks of viral infection waiting at the bottom. Sadly for those individuals who have chosen poorly, it seems that time and natural selection may be the only things that sort this out for them – but that is their choice I suppose.

It seems that for some people, no matter how many facts and no matter how much evidence we present to them, they will choose to ignore it, label it a conspiracy, a political tool, or a personal attack on themselves or their freedoms, and they will continue to say and do what they please. These are potentially very dangerous people, dangerous to themselves, their family members, and to the rest of us.

Many also seem to be trying to make this a political/personal freedom/control issue, which it is not. This is a health science issue pure and simple.

Yet, some seem to be ignoring, and maybe even substituting the actual facts of the situation with their own erroneous “facts,” beliefs, and “theories” – possibly so they then have an excuse as to why they do not need to take the common-sense recommended by science precautions like the rest of the population.  

Some individuals are even trying to profit off of the misfortune of others by marketing unproven and even fake “snake oil” coronavirus cures, protections, medicines, and “immune system boosters” to their followers. This profit-focused quackery is unethical, selfish, and despicable. Do not be or support these misguided people.

For the rest of us who are following the recommendations of the experts such as; wearing masks when in public, social/physical distancing, washing our hands frequently, staying home as much as possible, etc. – at least we have the odds far more in our favor and hopefully, this will give us a greater fitness for survival and we will then only need to wait for time and science to catch up to us with a treatment, and a vaccine – and then and only then will we hopefully be able to go back to some sort of “normal.”

Please wear a mask, it is not that hard to do and it is the responsible choice.

If you choose to not wear a mask in public places, please respect the wishes of others who do and just stop it with the hateful, disrespectful, dangerous words and actions.

If you are wearing a mask and someone coughs, sneezes, or spits at or on you – this is a personal attack, it is an assault that should not be tolerated. Get a description and/or photo of the perpetrator, their license plate number if possible, etc. and immediately report them to the authorities. They must be stopped before they spread their madness and their germs – SARS CoV2 infected or not – to other reasonable, thinking, caring, people.

Please, be a good human and follow these common-sense science-supported guidelines during this pandemic:

Stay home as much as possible.
Stay away from large gatherings of people.
If you must go out for supplies, please social/physical distance and obviously – wear a mask and wash your hands frequently.

If you choose to not wear a mask in public places – please, just stay home until all this is over/under control and choose to have the supplies you need delivered to your house. That is the safest thing for you, your loved ones, and for the rest of us.

The only way we are going to stop this monster virus is to listen to, and follow the recommendations of, the infectious disease experts and wait for a better treatment and eventually, a “cure.”

Until that time comes, please be smart about this.

Do good things.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful people, including my sister Jaelyn Crews Steverson, and my friends Christina A. Ramsey and Kathy Wright Hardy, and all the others out there who have been designing, making, and distributing masks to those who need them the most – you are all true heroes and undoubtedly you have saved people’s lives by your selfless actions. Thank you all for your much-needed service to our communities and to our species.

A great article on how and why wearing masks works.