COVID Maskers

One concept that enslaved us during the #COVID pandemic, was that if you didn't wear a mask, you may be, however indirectly, responsible for someone's death. 

This was an argument that was difficult to contend with. 

But we MUST contend with it, because it's flawed. 

Failure to sacrifice ALWAYS has this outcome, and importantly, every single day of your life, there are sacrifices not taken. 

* How many hours did you work in a homeless shelter or domestic violence shelter this week? How many more could you have worked?

* How much time did you spend investigating an unsolved crime or volunteering at a neighborhood watch?

* How much money you spend donating to life saving charities? 

* How much time did you spend volunteering to build up infrastructure in 3rd world countries?

Even if the answer to any of those or an infinite number of similar bullet points, is greater than zero, it's always going to be less than it could have been. 

And when you add up the deficit over time, eventually your failure to sacrifice every ounce of yourself, 24/7, will result in someone dying. 

Your refusal to wear a mask or get the experimental injection during COVID, was NO DIFFERENT,  than a refusal to donate to a life saving campaign, or donate 100% of your time to volunteer for people who need aid. 

It was a selfish act, to allow yourself to experience the warm smiles of your loved ones, and not spend two years of your life living in fear, that you decided was worth the risk. 

Just as your decision to buy an ice cream cone instead of donating the 5.00 to charity was a selfish act. 

One of a vast sea of selfish acts that  you have taken throughout your life. And the sum of those selfish acts IS Life. It's the experience of Life. 

We need to remember that Life still needs to be lived. 

300 million Americans , scarified human social interaction, the most important and fulfilling aspect of life, arguably the only thing that makes life worth living, for years during the COVID pandemic. 

That's the equivalent of 300-600+ MILLION years of human life, paid in sacrifice. 

What did it buy us?  

81% of lives lost were over 65, and many with comorbidities.  The average lifespan of an American is 76. How many years of life were spared? Of the people who died, how many would have died within a few years regardless of our actions? And of those, how many did we actually have a chance of saving with our massive sacrifice? 

Nearly 282,836  people died in 2020 of covid ( though again, many had comorbidities  and it's not clear how many of those had covid as the primary factor ). How many could we have saved? I don't believe our actions saved ANY, given that the virus managed to penetrate a very high portion of the population by the time the vaccine came out, despite our efforts.  But assuming we saved 25% of them, as current data indicates roughly 77.5% of us contracted the disease despite our sacrifice. And assuming that they would have all lived full lives otherwise ( unlikely given the comorbidities ). That's 11 years of life saved per individual. ((282,836/0.75)-282,836)*11. 1,037,065 years of human life  theoretically saved ( again, I'd argue with 75% penetration, anyone who could get infected, did... in which case we saved no one ). And we paid 300-600 million years of human experience.

Additionally, the years that we took , were often irreplaceable. 

We forced youth to give up school dances, graduation ceremonies, sporting events, performances and all manner of first accomplishments and their celebrations. For some, even the first comforting smile on their mother's face. Some of those things they will never again have the opportunity to experience. 

So when maskers say "I would wear a mask if it saved even just one life" . They aren't thinking it through.  They don't understand that what they are saying is irrational. They are just trading one sacrifice for another, and in so doing, one death, for another. There is no net gain, and in this case, I think it's pretty evident, there was a net loss.