No matter. I long ago ceased caring whether masks protect me or anyone else: I will not wear one. Nor would I even if the facts staunchly supported their efficacy: whatever Leviathan orders, I do the opposite as far as possible. Lovers of liberty bristle at mandates, especially those pertaining to something as personal as wardrobe. And when a store, restaurant or church enforces the State’s diktat, I head elsewhere, preferably after explaining why.

Why am I so adamant? Because of what this “fetish object … signifies [about] a person’s politics.” Masks scream, “I’M A SLAVE WHO LOVES MY CHAINS! Kneel with me and lick up the Kool-Aid!” They advertise that the wearer watches too much TV, that he’s foolish and gullible. I’d as lief waltz about the streets in a Che Guevara T-shirt as a mask.

Whether masks help or hurt is irrelevant to Our Rulers: only our deference concerns them. They are determined that we will comply, however senseless or disastrous their commands. Which prompts us to question whether the early contradictions regarding masks were deliberate (Jerome “Obedience is Freedom” Adams announced in February, “Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”). Maybe such inconsistency wasn’t as incompetent as we thought; maybe it was conditioning the sheeple to acquiesce no matter what.