Overreaching mask directives enacted have one more devastating effect on the general populace –Facemasks hide identities, conceal emotions and, more importantly, induce silencing of the tongue and the limiting of free speech
Legal confusion on the wearing of masks is evident. Eighteen states have laws on the books that forbid face coverings in public for reasons ranging from concealing identities to wearing one with intent to commit a crime, harassment or intimidation.
Mask bans first came about in response to the Ku Klux Klan’s infamous donning of hoods as a cowardly disguise. More states instituted anti-mask laws following the rise of Occupy Wall Street (OWS), Antifa and other rioters that relied on face coverings to avoid prosecution.
Officials’ heavy-handed dictates to don ineffective face coverings have been accepted by a deliberately frightened populace, separating them physically and emotionally from family and friends
Added to the mask twist are the head coverings and veils that some religious sects employ citing modesty, though even those have been known to be employed to thwart identification after engaging in illegal activity.
Along comes COVID-19 aka the Wu-Flu, Kung Flu, etc. and, in the blink of an eye, masks are all the rage purportedly to protect from a virus so small it’s breathed right through the weave of the fabric or the fibers of the paper.
The critical word here is rage. The otherwise benign face covering has taken on a new, compound role.
The first is using the mask to condition individuals to, without dispute, follow orders from government “experts” who flout their own statistics about the coronavirus and call it science. Whatever administrative edicts are signed into effect, the general populace has been complicit in the duplicity by not bothering to check the facts. (That does not include the censoring fact-checkers’ invented and corrupted data flooding social and mass media.) Officials’ heavy-handed dictates to don ineffective face coverings have been accepted by a deliberately frightened populace, separating them physically and emotionally from family and friends.
The irony is that, in those 18 states, complying with the facemask mandate means breaking the law. Consider France where they’re having a difficult time reconciling orders to wear facemasks with the fact that burkas and veils have been outlawed to combat terrorism .
Raging rioters used the anonymity of the now ubiquitous surgical mask to loot, trash and burn businesses across the nation
The second twist of this whole mask debacle is the criminal free-for-all that has been loosed upon the country. Even before the outbreak of violence over the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, there was a rise in the number of robberies by out-of-work petty criminals who were emboldened to steal merchandise from shops in broad daylight. It happened across the street locally at a Dollar General as well as a Dirt Cheap warehouse outlet a few weeks ago.
With this in mind, it’s not surprising that raging rioters used the anonymity of the now ubiquitous surgical mask to loot, trash and burn businesses across the nation. Hardworking citizens’ lifelong dreams and efforts are being destroyed for the sake of selfish sods letting off steam and snatching kitchen appliances.
This is what happens when the government pays people to do nothing – they get bored and bite the hand that feeds them. Welcome to socialism and the death throes of a once noble nation.
But there’s more to the convoluted legal morass of mandating mask wearing and social distancing, and that’s the reality of the First Amendment rights of both free speech and free expression of religion. In one instance, far overstepping her authority, Chicago’s health commissioner, Allison Arwady, threatened churches with closure and implied demolition if they exercise their religious freedom to worship according to their doctrines.
Government entities have already run-up against religious conformities where some sects instruct followers to wear hijabs, niqabs and even the body covering burkas. In instances where the government cannot make a case of compelling public interest for removal, those so clothed may keep their coverings.
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Creating a universal visual of covered mouths
Thus, the opposite may be true in that government cannot force individuals to wear a mask if such a face covering counters their religious belief that a virus with a smaller annual mortality rate than diabetes is not stronger than the healing power of God. (Here could be listed any number of supporting scriptures: 2 Timothy1:7, Exodus 15:26, Psalm 103:3, Jeremiah 17:14, Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 Peter 2:24 and on and on.)
The argument has been adjudicated before where health department officials have tried to force individuals to receive medical treatment against their religious beliefs. Nor are the two arguments severed in that true statistics of COVID-19 mortality prove that not wearing a mask is no more a threat to public health than an individual refusing “life-saving” surgery or therapy.
Of course, the fact that public health often withdraws the option of life-saving therapy to persons comatose or suffering from a terminal illness creates another crimp in the scope of legal health mandates. (Check Oregon and other states’ euthanasia laws.)
The overreaching mask directives enacted by many state, county and municipal officials have one more devastating effect on the general populace – creating a universal visual of covered mouths, virtually shutting up opposition. Facemasks hide identities, conceal emotions and, more importantly, induce silencing of the tongue and the limiting of free speech.
How many times has it been said that a picture is worth a thousand words? This is the image that prohibits speaking the thousand words.
Former newspaper publisher, A. Dru Kristenev, grew up in the publishing industry working every angle of a paper, from ad composition and sales, to personnel management, copy writing, and overseeing all editorial content. During her tenure as a news professional, Kristenev traveled internationally as a representative of the paper and, on separate occasions, non-profit organizations. Since 2007, Kristenev has authored five fact-filled political suspense novels, the Baron Series, and two non-fiction books, all available on Amazon. Carrying an M.S. degree and having taught at premier northwest universities, she is the trustee of Scribes’ College of Journalism, which mission is to train a new generation of journalists in biblical standards of reporting. More information about the college and how to support it can be obtained by contacting Kristenev at cw.o@earthlink.net.
ChangingWind (changingwind.org) is a solutions-centered Christian ministry.
Legal confusion on the wearing of masks is evident. Eighteen states have laws on the books that forbid face coverings in public for reasons ranging from concealing identities to wearing one with intent to commit a crime, harassment or intimidation.
Mask bans first came about in response to the Ku Klux Klan’s infamous donning of hoods as a cowardly disguise. More states instituted anti-mask laws following the rise of Occupy Wall Street (OWS), Antifa and other rioters that relied on face coverings to avoid prosecution.
