By this point, everybody is well aware that various governmental health entities, both in and outside the United States, are suggesting that folks ought to wear masks. The reasons cited are not entirely clear, though many would be willing to argue the contrary.

Let me first take a second to explain what I mean. Keep in mind, the information I’m giving is based on what’s happening here in the United States. Things may be different in other countries (though they generally appear to hold true regardless where you look).

We know that more folks have died from COVID-19 than would’ve died from influenza. We also know though, that substantially fewer have died from it than have died from cancer in the same period of time.

We’re also aware that people older than me are more likely to suffer adverse affects of the virus. That’s saying something, since I have half a century plus under my belt.

Even more significant, is that for people under the age of 55 (just younger than me), for the entire six months plus the Centers For Disease Control have been monitoring, less than 13,000 people have died as a result of contracting COVID-19.

As I’ve said in previous articles on this subject, for any cause of mortality, the number we’d always like to see is zero. That however, is not realistic. Let’s face it, some number of people will die as a result of bee stings.

That’s not intended to be crass, or uncaring about deaths with any cause. Even when people do stupid things and die as a result, we’re saddened, and still sympathize with their family and friends. And that’s the way that ought to be.

The point though is, it’s not unreasonable to look at the measures put in place for something like COVID-19 and raise sober questions about what’s being done. That’s particularly true when coming close to a third of all related deaths can be found in just two major population centers, and most of the rest, can be found in just a scant few more—none of which are anywhere near where I reside.

In the state in which I live, we’ve literally yet to bust six hundred deaths over the entire period in question. In fact, over 100,00 of the deaths that’ve occurred are in the ten of the states in the U.S. That means the remaining deaths (around 65,000 is the last number I heard) are spread over an area of 40 states—that would mean around 1700 deaths for each state for a six month period on average. Granted, those ten areas are population centers, so it’s not surprising their numbers are so high.

All of this considered though, having the entire country hunkered down in their homes and wearing masks everywhere they go seems more than a little extreme. I’m not saying you shouldn’t wear a mask if it makes you feel better, nor am I trying to push people out of their abodes. I’m simply saying, “The numbers don’t seem to support the measures in place.”

I’ve already argued all of this before (though I think this little summation being repeated often is crucial).

I’ve also argued that there are other effects of what we’re doing that’re not being properly considered. There’re children not getting the kind of education they need. People are becoming depressed and committing suicide. Folks are not working, and thus, have to rely on the government for support. More spouse abuse, child abuse, and elder abuse are almost certainly happening than before.

This is but a sampling of the horrible effects that are likely occurring.

There’s little question that the deaths and other ill effects from the countermeasures are worse than those from the disease—the head of the CDC has said as much.

What I’ve yet to discuss to this point though is, what effects are likely to result from wearing masks come to health. When I say that, you should understand I mean things like, people suffering the ravages of other ailments to a greater degree.

You can argue otherwise, but herd immunity is a real thing. People catch some virus, their bodies attack it, it’s conquered by their immune system and they’re more ready for the next outbreak.

This is true to the degree that many bugs go around and are really barely felt by the population at large. If individuals contract a given illness, the chances are far greater it won’t have all that serious an effect than if they’d never had it before.

I heard a Youtuber talking, arguing that the wearing of masks and social distancing would result in a large scale eradication of ailments. Forgive me, but that’s not how it works. To begin with, where was COVID-19 thought to have originated? In bats. When was the last time you saw a bat wearing a mask or concerned about social distance?

In fact, you may recall, the lock down currently in place was supposed to be for fifteen days. Why only fifteen days? Because those advocating for it sought only to “flatten the curve.” In short, they were assuming widespread pandemonium from people contracting the virus (which appears, by the way, to have almost no basis in fact). The theory was, wearing masks, social distancing and sheltering in place would slow the spread.

Nobody in his or her right mind made the argument that the disease would cease to be as a result of the measures in place. That’s not just true for COVID-19. Like it or not, the reason ‘flu shots have any efficacy at all—and I should say it’s pretty questionable they’re anything but hit-or-miss, but that’s another matter—is that the same strains (likely mutated to some degree) keep coming back around. The simple reality is, you don’t stop illnesses by the measures being used, you largely just postpone the inevitable. That’s not just true for a single virus. Taking such measure affects how other bugs propagate as well.

There are a number of reasons I haven’t supported the actions being taken, the one listed being one of the chief among them.

Thanks for reading, and may your time be good.