Mask Wars

With a stroke of the keyboard, a federal judge struck down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mandate for the wearing of masks on transit systems and on planes and in airports.

Now once again, we have a separation and perhaps polarization of our population. Some are leaping for joy, others are bemoaning the fact that the pandemic is not over, and yet our behaviors will mark us as caring or not caring. Freedom loving, or masked bandit drones of the larger government.

Today, as I write this on a train to Seattle, there are nine passengers in my car (5:26 a.m. train out of Puyallup). Seven are masked and three are not. Is that a reflection of their politics or weariness of wearing a mask?

I do agree with the idea that the Justice Department should not do a knee jerk appeal on the mask ruling. My concern is not so much our current situation, but the CDC’s authority in the future to issue mask rules for transportation.

Check the situation where you are and make your own assessment of mask wearing.