This whole COVID experience has made me think a lot about the lessons I learned in elementary school about rights and responsibilities. I am so thankful that my teachers went over and over with us the fact that we enjoy certain rights which are connected to certain responsibilities.

For instance, it’s my right to not wear a mask, but it’s my responsibility to make sure that my right to remain free-faced doesn’t impinge upon the rights of others to not be contaminated by my spit, which travels freely out of my mouth every time I speak, sneeze, cough, or even just breathe.

So I wear a damn mask in public places, and then I choose not to wear one in my home because I’m not having visitors. It’s that simple.

Because my right to comfort isn’t more important than my responsibility to care for my fellow human beings.

We went to Costco yesterday, and I would bet that at least 1/3 of my fellow shoppers were just enjoying themselves all mask-free and whatnot. Right alongside the rest of us, who were doing our best to protect our fellow humans, whether they cared enough about us to do the same or not.

The older masked folks were frantically staying to themselves, lurking on the edges, turning their heads every time they saw one of these unmasked freedom fighters. The checkers were also highly strung, as they have to encounter thousands of people per day, and every exposure could potentially kill them.

Yes, freedom warriors. You are insisting upon your freedom at the expense of every person with whom you come into contact. You are potentially infecting peoples’ grandparents, parents, children, and more. We do not wear our masks for us, we are wearing them for you.

So here we come into the truth of the situation: You’re just being rude. You’re not making a political statement. You’re making the statement that, to you, your rights are more important than others’ lives. You’ve decided that your right to comfort supersedes everyone else’s right to be safe and not assaulted by your potentially germy spit spray.

Nice. I hope that makes you feel really good about yourself.

This isn’t about politics, guys. It’s about manners, and a lack of them.