Masks mandate is coercion

To the Editor:

It is human nature to want to feel you matter, that your actions have value, but for some, it morphs into moral narcissism and that is what your governor and his minions are counting on, shame your neighbor he suggests, wear the mask but do not question his authority or what real value a mask may have.

It reeks of the Weimar republic and the brown shirts of the early 1930s. I fear the left's assault on basic freedoms and their desire for absolute control and the virus has given them the perfect tool, but what really scares me is my fellow citizens so willing to hand over their freedom with little question.

It's politics people, pure and simple, all under the guise that they care and as long as you wear that mask, you are doing your part. From my viewpoint it is coercion, intimidation and fear. You have handed over your ability to freely associate for perceived safety and once given you will never get it back.

I don't have enough space in this column but much more accurate, truthful information is readily available on COVID death rates per testing and Icu/hospitalizations should you choose to look and inform yourself rather than trust the hourly news updates breathlessly reported by those who have an agenda.

Many are having the hell scared out of them, our businesses are being ruined and lives destroyed, and there will be no economy if not reversed and hence we will cease to exist as a free society. We are all essential not just a selected few but to those on the left some are more essential than others. Fear can be a great motivator but also a powerful form of control. Ask yourself, which are you living right now?

Mike Brooks

Columbia