![\"masks\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.mises.org\/styles\/slideshow\/s3\/static-page\/img\/gettyimages-1270280552-170667a_1.jpg?itok=QX4GEObV\")
<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n01\/20\/2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough is enough. It is time to stop wearing masks, or at the very least to eliminate mask mandates in all\u00a0settings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is especially urgent for children in schools and universities,\u00a0who suffer the effects of masks for long hours each day despite being at exceedingly low\u00a0risk for death or serious illness from covid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have a responsibility, once and for all, to reject the ludicrous, ever-shifting narratives underpinning masks as effective impediments to the spread of covid infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seriously people\u2014STOP BUYING MASKS!\u00a0They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus\u00a0<\/p>
\u2014former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams in February 2020.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The story changed from \u201cmasks don\u2019t work,\u201d to \u201cmasks may work,\u201d to \u201cmasks work and\u00a0you must wear one.\u201d Now the narrative switches\u00a0yet again: \u201ccloth masks don\u2019t work, so you should wear a surgical or \u2018well-fitted\u2019\u00a0mask,\u201d or even\u00a0wear two<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note that even as covid evolves into a\u00a0less<\/em>\u00a0dangerous omicron variant, we are supposed to\u00a0increase\u00a0<\/em>the hysteria level by wearing masks intended for surgeons maintaining a\u00a0sterile environment over open wounds. We are told this by the same political, medical, and media figures who have been \u201cfrequently wrong but never in doubt\u201d about all things covid over the past two long years. And they spoke with just as much bogus certainty then as they do now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perversely, the Biden administration\u00a0recently\u00a0ordered<\/a>\u00a0400 million surgical N95 masks for distribution across the country. Since N95 masks are considered disposable, and meant to be worn at most perhaps\u00a040 hours<\/a>, it is unclear what happens in a week or two when 330 million Americans run out of their \u201cfree\u201d personal protective equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UK has\u00a0sensibly ended<\/a>\u00a0its mask mandates, both in public places (offices and other workplaces, bars, restaurants, sporting events, theaters) and thankfully\u00a0schools. One young university student\u00a0broke down in tears<\/a>\u00a0at the news, lamenting the inhumanity of her experience over the past two years. As British Health secretary Savid Javid stated, \u201cWe must learn to live with covid in the same way we live with flu.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The arguments against masks are straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Masks don\u2019t work. Or at least cloth masks don\u2019t.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Even the CDC now admits what Dr. Anthony Fauci\u00a0told the world<\/a>\u00a0in February 2020: cloth masks don\u2019t work and there is no reason to wear one:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through material. It might, however, provide some slight benefit in keep out gross droplets if someone coughs or sneezes on you.\u201d<\/p>
I do not recommend that you wear a mask, particularly since you are going to a very low risk location.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
CNN\u2019s dubious medical expert Dr. Lena Wen, previously an uber-masker,\u00a0now\u00a0tells us\u00a0<\/a>cloth masks are \u201clittle more than facial decorations. And heroic skeptic Dr. Jay Bhattacharya cites both\u00a0a\u00a0Danish study<\/a>\u00a0and a\u00a0Bangladeshi study<\/a>\u00a0which found cloth masks show little efficacy in preventing covid.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are we seriously prepared to wear tight and uncomfortable\u00a0surgical masks all day to evade omicron?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Masks are filthy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Humans lungs and our respiratory system\u00a0are designed to inhale nitrogen\u00a0and oxygen\u00a0and exhale carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is literally a waste product, removed from the blood via our lungs. Masks\u00a0may\u00a0<\/a>not trap\u00a0<\/a>injurious levels of carbon dioxide against our nose and mouth, but they certainly\u00a0get filthy\u00a0<\/a>very quickly unless changed constantly. They also encourage\u00a0mouth breathing<\/a>, which can cause \u201cmask mouth\u201d symptoms including acne, bad breath, tender gums, and lip irritation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why would we ever interfere with natural breathing unless we felt sick, displayed symptoms,\u00a0and were worried about infecting others? And in that case, why not just stay home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Masks are dehumanizing.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Humans communicate verbally and nonverbally, and masks impede both forms. Masks muffle and distort our words. Our facial expressions are important cues to everyone around us; without those cues communication and understanding suffer. Infants and toddlers\u00a0may be most affected<\/a>, as a lack of facial engagement\u00a0with parents and loved ones impedes\u00a0the human connections and attachments formed during childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps most disturbing, however, are the symbolic effects when millions of Americans dutifully wear masks based on flimsy evidence provided by deeply unimpressive people. Facelessness\u2013the lack of individual identity, personality, and looks\u2013\u00a0is inherently dehumanizing and dystopian. Like prison or military uniforms, masks\u00a0reduce our personal characteristics.\u00a0Mask are muzzles, symbols of rote acquiescence to an ugly new normal nobody asked for or voted for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Risk is inevitable.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Risk is omnipresent, and heavily subjective (e.g., covid risk varies enormously with\u00a0age and comorbidities). Nobody has a right to force interventions like masks onto others, just as\u00a0nobody has a right to a hypothetical germ-free landscape. Exhalation is not aggression, short of purposefully attempting to sicken others. People wearing masks arguably shed\u00a0slightly fewer covid virus particles than those not, but this does not justify\u00a0banning the latter from public life. As always, the overwhelming burden of justification for\u00a0any\u00a0intervention\u2014including\u00a0mask mandates\u2014must rest on those proposing it, not those opposing it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In sum, Americans are not children.\u00a0Tradeoffs<\/a>\u00a0are part of every policy, whether government officials admit this or not. We know how to coexist with flu, just as we live with countless bacteria and viruses in our environment. We will\u00a0similarly coexist with covid. The goal is not to eliminate germs, and zero covid is an absurdity. A healthy immune system, built up through diet, exercise, and sunlight will always be the best frontline defense against communicable disease. But diet, exercise, and sunlight cannot be outsourced to health officials or mandated by politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whatever slight benefits masks may provide are a matter for individuals to decide for themselves. People who feel sick with symptoms should stay home. We can all wash our hands frequently and thoroughly. Otherwise it is time for Americans to assert themselves against the dubious claims and non-existent legality of government covid measures.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is time to get back to normal life, and that starts with visible human faces.Author:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contact Jeff Deist<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff Deist<\/a>\u00a0is president of the Mises Institute. He previously worked as chief of staff to Congressman Ron Paul, and as an attorney for private equity clients. Contact:\u00a0email<\/a>;\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
source: mises.org Unmask America 01\/20\/2022 Enough is enough. It is time to stop wearing masks, or at the very least to eliminate mask mandates in all\u00a0settings.\u00a0 This is especially urgent for children in schools and universities,\u00a0who suffer the effects of masks for long hours each day despite being at exceedingly low\u00a0risk for death or serious … Read moreMasking is Idiotic, and Ineffective<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","pmpro-has-access"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3062\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Risk is inevitable.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Masks are dehumanizing.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Masks are filthy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Masks don\u2019t work. Or at least cloth masks don\u2019t.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n