A topic for discussion: government mask mandates.
It certainly appears that the Commie Cough is on an upward trend again after having been seemingly knocked down by the Trump-era “Project Warp Speed” vaccines. I have no problem wearing a mask in a store or a doctors office, even though I’ve had the vaccine. Being told to by the management of a store doesn’t bother me, any more than “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Business” bothers me. But the government poking its nose into this does start to bother me. Of course the nonsense being done in Australia is clearly far over the line of what a free people should tolerate.
I am, I believe, a practical-minded middle of the road libertrian-ish minarchist. The government should do what it is Constitutionally mandated to do… and nothing more. Not even “for the public good” or “for the children.” If such things are that important, then the Constitution can and should be changed. If you can’t drum up the support to change the Constitution, then it’s not that important. The jobs of laws that restrict a persons behavior should not be to protect that person from themselves (and thus I’m opposed to laws against doing stupid dangerous stuff), but to protect other people from someone’s behavior. And thus a mask mandate… I can see it. If there is a reasonable risk that *you* coughing could infect other people, then *you* masking up makes sense.
But since there is a vaccine… are those vaccinated a risk to others if they are unmasked?
Even if masks are a good enough idea that mandating them in an emergency makes sense, what we’re seeing is the use of such “emergency” powers for long-term power grabs. I honestly can’t see any direct benefit to a tyrannical regime in making everyone mask up; it does not practically hinder the people, but it does make it more difficult to identify individuals for specific oppression. On the other hand, masks are likely not the end goal, but a wedge in the door: get people used to this little intrusion. Then one more little thing. Then another. And soon enough, we’re Australia, and interstate travel ans ceased and the economy is in free fall, and the only hope for the poor beleaguered citizens is Super Government swooping to the rescue with all new payouts. Conspiratorial? Maybe. Unlikely? Probably not. See: Australia.
So, after all that blather, simple, question: government mask mandate, yes or no?