Guest Post: The Mask - A Security Blanket for Adults imposed by "Omnipotent Moral Busybodies"

Ready for the Post Office?

by Lise Baur

Today I was thrown out of a post office because I did not have a mask. No, the post office was not in the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, aka East Germany, it was in Silver Spring Maryland. I stopped in to get a free small flat rate box and the check on the amount of postage required. If it were possible, I would have mailed my item but, since I was being hollered at and told to leave, I left.

I do not want to wear a mask. At first blush, one may think me to be simply a contrarian. But, in reality, that is not the case. I am a reasonable and educated person who cares deeply for people. When I am treated as such, I am very agreeable to following rules and even guidelines. For example, my little girlfriend group in high school decided that when we all got our driver’s licenses, we would automatically buckle up even though it was not the law. We saw the common sense safety, from a physics point of view, and we never wanted to have to remind each other to wear them. It was a pact. And it worked out great. No one had to be “the heavy” to enforce our pact. And I would continue to wear seat belts with or without the law to this day.

This mask edict is different. It amounts to wearing a mask, “Because I said so! And because I am in charge, I know better than you so shut up serf and do what you are told!” 

I am tired of being told I am anti-life because I do not want to wear a mask. Or worse yet, that I am some sort of sociopathic killer because I do not need a security blanket, aka the mask. I do not wear a mask because I am not contagious. I know I am not contagious because I have been stuck in the house for 6 weeks! If I thought I were contagious, I would stay home because I wouldn’t want to get anyone else sick. I do this during cold & flu season so why would I not do it now? I think most people are like me.

Last night, I watched the Laura Ingraham Show on FOX as she inquired from Dr. John Ioannidis of Stanford University if wearing a mask was scientifically shown to reduce infection. His answer was a little wishy-washy about infection But he was definite in explaining that if the mask gives people confidence to go out and feel safe then they should wear it. Sounds like there could be more than an actual health and safety reason to wear a mask.

My sons will tell you that I always say, “I have a brain, and I am willing to use it.” Way back in early March, we heard our (trustworthy?) Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams tell us that wearing a mask does not protect from getting the virus. "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when, first, we practice to deceive." He backtracked that one and had to come clean and admit it was false. They did not want to create a run on masks making them unavailable for healthcare workers. 

Anyone with half a mind, scratched their heads at his first statement and thought, “Well, if they don't work, why do doctors/nurses wear them?” Okay, so which is it, Dr. Adams? Right there and then Dr. Adams should have been relieved of his duties. Did he lie to us? Or is he just that incompetent? Either way, he should be fired. The truth always finds the light of day and incompetence should not be rewarded with prestige. The American citizens need to have confidence in our medical leaders, especially during a health emergency. And as far as I am concerned, I do not trust one word coming from him. He ruined it for himself. If he were told to lie, then he should have had the integrity to withstand the pressure and refuse!

So in Maryland, our beloved Fuhrer, Herr Hogan, has commanded all to wear masks in a variety of public establishments. Why? He never really explained that part. Only that we need to wear masks (period). Just to be sure he sufficiently intimidated all of us into submission, he attached a $5,000 fine for non-compliance. And for good measure, he also instituted a $5,000 fine for a business non-compliance with the edict. How thoughtful! I cannot really blame the guy, after all he shuttered all the businesses, and now is losing tons of revenue in lost sales tax, etc so he has to make it up somehow. Cynical yes, but it is probably the case.

Getting back to my venture into the post office, I concluded that since Governor Hogan is the governor of the State of Maryland and that the USPS is a federal enterprise, it would not be under the fiat. So as I blew past the small homemade sign on the door, I was relatively confident that no one would bother me. Boy, did I read that one wrong. The angry workers behind the counters started shouting at me immediately to put on a mask. I told them that there was no federal law that required me to wear a mask. They yelled even louder. People were staring at me. I asked them how much did it cost to mail this box I held in my hand. They just repeated the mask command. They then told me to leave. I reminded them again that there was no rule about federal buildings. The one woman said that I could go out to the lobby and find the information I wanted. So I stepped out into the lobby where she came out and asked, “So you are not going to leave?” I asked again, ”How much does it cost to mail this box?” She sneered, “Look online!” She confirmed again if I was not going to leave and turned with a start. It seemed to me as if she were going to call the police, so I left with my box. As I left, I eyeballed the sign, I did not see any reference to a federal regulation or statute.

After I thought about the incident for a while, I did a little research online. Is there a rule? Through many searches, I could not find any such rule. I found OSHA guidelines for employers which clearly stated that these were unenforceable guidelines. I could not find anything about USPS customers being required to wear masks. So I called the USPS customer care hotline and spoke with a USPS law enforcement officer. Officer Duran informed me there was no such regulation requiring me to wear a face mask in the post office. He flat out said the ladies were wrong and I should file a complaint. He could not help me since it was not a crime per se, just very bad customer service. He gave me a number which turned out to be a wrong office. 

After Stephanie listened to my complaint, she gave me the correct number. Which was also incorrect which was the Inspector General’s office. But the person who answered agreed that this was wrong and that she hated the whole state mandate to wear a mask. I commented to her that I was pretty sure there would be some type of regulation from ages past prohibiting the wearing of a mask in the post office. I mean how would they be able to recognize a criminal from the Wanted posters that were displayed at one time? She laughed at my assertion and thought it was probably correct. She suggested I file my complaint online. And I did.

So this mask wearing business is really about control. Will the serfs fall in line and obey? If one obeys, then one can shop and move about freely as if a free citizen. If not wearing a mask, then one is put on house arrest regardless of health status. So for now I am relegated to the park and my home. 

Mandating masks is not how a free country operates. In a free country, the officials would lay out the reasoning behind wearing the mask and then encourage us to wear them. And most people would wear them voluntarily because it would make sense. But then there would be no fines to collect, no serfs to harass.

Still think it is about safety? Read CS Lewis’ thoughts about tyranny:

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be "cured" against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.

So which one are you? An infant or an imbecile? I hope like me you answered, “NEITHER!” Now listen to a hot mic moment from the White House press briefing room.

Not at all about safety…. It is about behavior as Dr. Birx has reminded us ad nauseam since the beginning of her reign as Queen of the United States of Wuhan Flu.