Mask Mandates: Using Force to Compel Others to Keep us Safe
Like many of you, I live in a county that has a “mask mandate” for indoor settings in place for COVID-19 . It’s a little bit of a strange case because there are currently no penalties associated with not wearing a mask. Overall, our health department indicates that the majority of citizens are voluntarily complying with the mandate.
Despite this, there has been a new uptick in cases within the county. Now, one obvious question to ask is why would we be seeing an uptick in cases if mask mandates are an effective means of controlling COVID-19 and the majority of citizens are complying with the existing mandate?
Our health department appears to have come to the conclusion that even though the compliance rate with the existing mandate is quite high, the small minority of dissenters are the cause behind this uptick. Following this, they have been seeking the authority from elected officials to add civil penalties in the form of fines to the existing mask mandate.
Such a move would be wrong. But let’s be clear about why it would be wrong.
Some people would make the case that fining people for not complying with the mask mandate is wrong because they claim masks are not an effective barrier to COVID-19 transmission. Personally, I find this argument un-persuasive. Regardless of your beliefs on the effectiveness of mask wearing, that isn’t the fundamental issue.
The reason fining people is wrong is because it invests the government with power to use force (yes, fining people is a form of force) to compel private citizens on private property (primarily, businesses — but also churches, sports leagues, etc) to carry out specific tasks that may be against their will.
We do not have a right to force others to do things on our behalf. If fact, doing so destroys a right we do actually have. The freedom to make our own choices.
I am responsible to evaluate the risk of COVID-19 for my family and avoid activities, places, etc that I believe would be un-wise. You also have the same responsibility. If we believe something to be unsafe, then we should avoid it.
