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The Great Mask Mandate Debate
To mask or not to mask has become a major dilemma in many states and school districts of late. Some parents demand that schools should require masks while others are vehemently against it, with the conflict even escalating to the level of violence in some cases. But why are parents so worried about masks? They’re certainly less invasive than, say, a vaccine mandate, and they protect children too young to get vaccines. No, they’re not fun, but neither is COVID. Opponents of mask mandates tend to object on the grounds of personal freedoms and parental choice. K-12 students aren’t known as a group with a lot of freedom or autonomy anyway, and parents don’t seem to complain much when kids are forced to participate in fire drills or scoliosis checks or school physicals. So what gives? Why has a relatively simple and seemingly benign public safety issue been so politicized?
What’s clear is that we have allowed larger political divisions in this country to trickle down to our kids. We’re divided about everything else, so why not cloth face coverings? In some ways, it makes sense: a child or teen wearing a face mask is a pretty compelling symbol of a virus that has in many ways further polarized the country and the world. This conflict is currently playing out across the country, with parents turning against teachers, districts turning against states, and governors pitted against the president. The…
