A strategy which I (Providentially) “stumbled” upon years ago for combating lustful passions was to look scantly clad ladies in the eyes we passed. This simple action transformed the woman from an object of desire into a living, breathing, and, yes, beautiful creature made in the image of God. The lesson: dehumanizing a person is easier when you refuse to look into their soul. 

The inverse is also true as I was reminded when the nearby headline popped up on my WSJ news feed. I am largely unconcerned with women’s fashions, but the photo accompanying the article drove home how difficult humanizing women has become in the era of COVID. A beautiful masked woman wearing dark sunglasses is easily “objectified” since to humanize her now requires considerable more discipline and effort. Since those features which would humanize her – her smile, her eyes, her disposition – are invisible, a man’s eyes are naturally drawn to those characteristics which are more obvious. Indeed, features which are intentionally obvious.

I recognized this feature of masks in two different contexts when the so-called pandemic first started. We travelled back to Ohio shortly after the death of George Floyd. When we hit Iowa and the number of black Americans we encountered increased exponentially, I realized that neither they nor I could discern our dispositions toward one another. All were friendly when we spoke but there was a timidity in initiating conversations for fear of rejection or hostility. 

On the return trip, we stopped by our old stomping in Boulder County, Colorado. The affluent, liberal, masked citizens of the county refused, without exception, to look me – the unmasked intruder – in the eye despite the fact that we were on a nature trail in bright sunlight and superb ventilation. I think some were angry toward my “cavalier” attitude, but others were embarrassed because my “mask-less-ness” pulled the veil from their cowardice. Many had exchanged existence for life, and the results were not pretty.

These are but three examples of the many problems with our fixation on masks. Even if masks have some impact upon transmissions of COVID-19, that impact is marginal and the costs of the mask mandate far outweigh these benefits.  Masks instill fear in many, but they also breed suspicion and hostility in mask-wearer and mandate resistor alike. The masks… well… mask the distinctly emotional and spiritual aspects of those passing us on the sidewalk or in aisles. That is, these hideous cloth aberrations conceal the very characteristics that make us human. 

All of which brings me to the point of this post. The time has come. Throw off your mask. Vanquish your fear of COVID. Look people in the eye and rejoice in the uniqueness of each person passes by.