Mask ‘truthers’

Dear editor:

This is a response to the letter of July 18 headed “Open letter to governor.”

Ms. Marihart, the letter writer, feels that our governor has overstepped several boundaries in introducing a mild form of mandatory mask usage in Arkansas in response to COVID-19. My only criticism of the governor’s action is that it is long overdue. But all of us are learning, every day. There are no easy answers.

It is true that the CDC at one point questioned the efficacy of face masks. They have a very different view now, having had more time and experience to look at all of the angles. They now recommend the wearing of masks and/or face shields. And masks of three layers are better than some.

The matter of our increasing our own health liabilities by wearing masks has been examined by people with scientific and health knowledge, and it has been nullified. Article after article tells us that the fear of increasing our intake of the carbon dioxide we have exhaled to the point of its making us ill is totally unfounded.

In this regard, I am afraid that Ms. Marihart speaks on both sides of her mask at the same time. Let what she says sink in: “Human respiration expels waste from the body, which includes carbon dioxide and other particulate waste. Exposure to your own human expulsion is a danger to health. A virus that would normally be expelled continues to be an exposure while wearing a mask.”

I have to wonder: you have quoted the U. S. Surgeon General (speaking in February) as saying that a virus particle is smaller than the openings in cloth, so the mask does not stop the virus from being inhaled. But now you say that the mask will hold in the virus particles that a sick person exhales, a continuing exposure to the mask wearer? Must be a two-way material.

One important consideration in this whole matter is man’s (or woman’s) humanity to man. Do we care about others? Even if we do not fear inhaling the virus, believing that we can “play the percentages,” or feeling that the president is correct that “99 percent of virus illnesses” are not serious, do we have any responsibility to others, some of whom are very susceptible to COVID-19 because of underlying weaknesses?

You show that you believe in the documents of our history, referring to the Nuremberg Code and the Helsinki Declaration (which in fact deal with experimenting on humans); the Magna Carta; the Constitution and OSHA. I can’t wrap my head around the connections with your arguments here.

But I would ask you, if and when you study this question more, to include one more document: The Ten Commandments. There is much in its spirit that could be helpful in our decision regarding the wearing of this protective device.

Notice especially the one that emphasizes our responsibility for preserving the lives of others: “You shall not kill.” C.G. Smith Hot Springs