Post # 184, Bob McKnight's Florida Commentary
Science on Masks: The Threat to Public Health in Schools is Greater Than Any Individual Freedoms Denied.
I cannot remember as much division among good Americans as we are seeing about "mask mandates." I profess no medical knowledge nor credentials. But I have studied human interactions and resulting politics for over 50 years. Here is my take on "Mask Mandates":
Wearing an approved medical facial mask blocks some germ dissemination for those wearing the masks and provides some protection against having germs penetrate the wearer by others.
Wearing the mask is both tolerable and very irritating, depending how long it is constantly worn.
Decisions about masks and whether they should be worn should be left up to government approved medical professionals.
There is a growing sector of America that do not trust our government, and believe many communications through social media are true, even if not proven.
The January 6th Riots have begun breeding a citizen militancy that appears to be growing in the range of 1/4 of the country, certainly a clear majority of the current Republican Party.
On the issue of masks, Florida has the two largest proponents of disallowing mask mandates by schools, even if based on proven science. Governor DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran have had or are seeking higher office in government.
DeSantis and Corcoran have argued the issue is individual freedom to wear masks, but science has said it is a threat to public health. If the masks are not worn, people could be at risk to get the deadly Covid-19 Delta virus.
Last week, Florida hospitals started reporting that they have exceeded their supply of beds available for Covid-19 patients, to which Governor DeSantis had no response.
Florida has lead the nation in Covid-19 cases reported almost every day this year.
If deaths result, DeSantis and Corcoran could be liable, having full knowledge of the threat in advance and disallowing a public protection readily available.
Perhaps the best indicator of the lack of even Republican support to oppose local decisions on mandating masks in public schools is that neither of our two U.S. Senators or our biggest House Delegation in South Florida are supporting DeSantis, calling it "a waste of time." Late Friday, the court ruled against DeSantis on the masks issue, and as always looking out for our dollars as a conservative, he elected to spend more of our money on a futile appeal. As a former lawmaker, I may be the first to foresee the Governor being subject to Impeachment for violating his oath of office to protect the lives and health of Floridians.