Nobody
likes wearing masks. They're
uncomfortable, it's difficult to talk in them and they mess up your hair.
But as
of this morning, at least 2.6 million Americans have Covid-19, and 127,461 have
died from it. Perhaps more alarming is
the fact that infections have increased by 80% in the past two weeks. (2020)
Clearly
everyone should be wearing masks. So why
aren't they?
We
know that all decisions are emotional, so you can disregard the
"rational" excuses that people are offering. Instead we should consider what it means to
wear a mask. It means acknowledging the
fact that a pandemic is raging across the globe killing people and destroying
economies.
That's
scary stuff.
And
putting on a mask means admitting that we have no control over this virus. And that it might actually kill us or our
loved ones. Instead we chose denial -
and skip the masks so we can pretend that we are safe.
Sadly
pretending won't help. Wearing a mask
will. But people make bad decisions when
they are under stress.
Research
tells us that we need to fight fear with fear.
We need to show photos of the overrun hospitals, supply shortages and
pictures of sick people. And then maybe
people will realize that it's even scarier not to wear a mask.
(2020, July 1) Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case
Count. nytimes.com. retrieved July
1, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
