Masks and sacrifice

I appreciated the Daily Herald's recent editorial asking people to wear masks as a simple, effective way to cut down on COVID-19 infections.

It is worth emphasizing that complying with masking expectations is not the unprecedented great sacrifice of "personal freedom" that some seem to make it out to be.

Indeed, throughout the history of our country, countless military personnel, first-responders and health care workers have been willing to make much greater sacrifices in order to protect the lives of their fellow Americans. These heroes, for the sake of others, have chosen to put themselves in harm's way and been willing when necessary to give up the "personal freedom" to do whatever they want, however they want, whenever they want.

Surely we Americans during this pandemic can make a much, much smaller sacrifice and choose to help protect others by always wearing a mask when indoors in public spaces and when interacting with those who are not part of our immediate household; we should even put on a mask outdoors if ample social distancing is not practical.

It is also important to wear a mask properly. The mask must snugly cover both the mouth and nose to be fully effective. People who pull their masks down below the nose may be able to breathe very comfortably, but they are thereby greatly increasing their chance of catching the virus or spreading it to others.

Proper and consistent mask-wearing by everyone will help our country control the virus and reopen the economy more quickly. Please do your patriotic duty as Americans: wear a mask in the situations described and wear your mask correctly.

Cliff Darnall

Schaumburg