I wear my coronavirus mask more often than not, but not 100 percent of the time, which I probably should.
I kind of relate the habit of wearing the mask to wearing my seatbelt in the car. When the recommendation to wear your seatbelt first came out, it was done so as a way to save lives. Wearing one’s seatbelt was voluntary at first, and very little compliance was the result of said recommendation.
Then it became a law to wear your seatbelt and there was slightly more compliance, but not much. Then a $25 fine was added to the law and compliance spiked a little, but the $25 didn’t seem to be enough to get people’s attention, so the fine jumped to $100 and compliance soared.
So, at the end of the day we weren’t crazy about wearing our seatbelts to save lives, but to avoid a $100 fine we buckled up. For most of us it’s just a habit now.
I certainly don’t want to see another law added to the books, much less a possible fine. Do I think wearing a mask will become the new norm? I doubt it and I hope not. But for now I do want people to consider that wearing a mask is like making a healthy lifestyle choice.
Frankly, when I am wearing my mask I do so for my protection, not yours, and I really don’t mind if you don’t wear one. Just don’t invade my personal space, which is now 6 feet.
Remember when your personal space used to be self-determined? It didn’t bother me to stand shoulder to shoulder to someone, but if you’re that close to me face-to-face, that causes my uncomfortable meter to redline.
So, for now I’ll mask up, sanitize often, wash my hands for 20 seconds, stay 6 feet apart, and go about my new abnormal lifestyle and be thankful that’s all I have to complain about.