What’s it gonna take?

The most powerful man in the world is fighting a virus that’s killed more than 210,000 people in this country. He was hospitalized because of it. And in spite of all this, some folks still refuse to wear masks.

In the latest viral video, two men on a flight get into a fight over face coverings, and the altercation had to be broken up.

We watched the video a couple of times, shaking our head, and the person recording it told a Salt Lake City television station what she witnessed. A man was wearing a face shield, but not a mask. And a flight attendant informed him he needed a mask, according to airline rules.

Makes sense. A face shield might prevent someone from sneezing in your face, or you sneezing into theirs, but it does little to stop the germs from going in and out of your mouth into the circulated air. When the man refused to wear a mask, a nearby passenger (who was wearing a mask) heckled him. You can guess the next scene.

Why are people in this country still fighting over this? The medical science is clear. Masks help prevent the spread of covid-19. We had a lady write to us a few months ago, explaining that masks kept CO2 from getting out of our systems. Tell it to the doctors who’ve been wearing masks for years, and who don’t seem to faint on the operating table. What somebody might find on an internet site is less convincing than the practices of all the M.D.’s on the planet.

Wear a mask when you’re out and about. It’s not a negotiation. It’s not a plea. It’s a rule. This is what’s required for America to beat this virus.

The president says he “gets it” now. Do the rest of us?