In the June 20 front-page article “Mask schism: ‘Submission muzzle’ or civic duty?,” Floridian Max Parsell justified his choice forgoing a mask because “making individual decisions is the American way.”
We must step up as world leader in this time of crisis and dissociate the “American way” from freedom through selfishness.
It’s time for the United States to acknowledge this pandemic as a global issue. We can no longer ignore the virus’s reach and effects. We must use our American liberties to save lives and set an example for other countries to follow. Otherwise, we will all have death on our hands.
Myranda Campanella, Glen Burnie
Well, someone finally said it. In his June 25 Sports column, “If our country has no sports, there’s no one else to blame,” Thomas Boswell fairly assessed the difference between Europe, population not much greater than ours, and the United States. In Europe, mask-wearing and acting like a team are the norm. In this country, we are so focused on being individuals and being stars of our own show that we put others in the “we don’t care about you” category. This starts at the top.
Do you not think that if the person who is the titular head of this country put on a mask and asked us to follow, we might be in a better place now? Heaven help us if this were a war with arms and not a war with a virus.
Elizabeth S. Thomas, Silver Spring