Fog, COVID-19 & Face Coverings

There's been a lot of talk about face "masks" or properly, something covering mouth and nose in order to prevent aspirations from spewing forth and possibly infecting others if the person who should be wearing a face covering happens to be a carrier of COVID-19.  Are they optional?  Are they required?  Judge those who do or don't?  Should we shame clueless people into wearing them?  Or, just give a thumbs up to those who do?

We got an earful from Dr Ngozi Ezike, Director of Illinois Department of Public Health.  It's YOUR responsibility to protect yourself and others! Don't worry about others. Everyone worry about themselves and we shall overcome!

It reminds me again about drivers not turning on their lights (head and tail) when it's foggy or raining or snowing out, let alone when dusk comes.  Is it the law?  Yes, in some places it is.  In some places, it's a matter of judgment.  In some places, I think the general populace either think most drivers are smarter than they really are or so called libertarianism --  the philosophy of government just leaving us alone -- is at the root.  But, would it be safer if people turned their lights on?  Just like they say that most non-mask-wearers are not deliberately wanting to infect others, can we say that these non-lighted-cardrivers don't really want to cause accidents?

Then, there's the dilemma.  Should we tell them that they should have their lights on?  Granted, you're protected by a 1.5 ton vehicle, so if the other driver (the one in a vehicle without the lights on) gets irritated or if you are driving a little too fast and the lack of taillights comes up a little too soon in front of you, you're protected, right?  What about if the other vehicle is an SUV or pickup truck? That's TWO TONs of steel coming at you.  You can guess who would win. Larry's father, Old Charlie Dunphy, had told me he didn't want to flick lights at oncoming, unlit cars, because he feared reprisal.  It reminds me of one of those horror/thriller films like "Duel" in which a little slight resulted in a lot of sweat and gut-churning and ended with Dennis Weaver, the offending driver in the sedan, faking his own death in a spectacular over-the-cliff car crash.

Instead of expounding on whether or not something is constitutional or not, legal or not, effective or not, how about we just do the right thing so that others around us feel safe about being in a civilized society?