Germany is on the verge of the mask turnaround. For almost two years, the cloth rags in public spaces were an integral part of the faces after a mask requirement at the beginning of the pandemic was unimaginable. Authorities ignored the benefits of the masks, many citizens saw them as the ultimate robbery of their rights, and doctors even thought that only they could use them properly. That the masks in Asia have long been an expression of consideration for fellow human beings? Germans found this bizarre.
The elimination of the mask requirement is now being celebrated with corresponding euphoria in large parts of the population. Unfortunately, there is nothing to celebrate at all. It would be so smart and easy to use the bit of cloth in front of the mouth and nose for a while longer to protect the old and the sick and to prevent a wave of long-Covid cases among the young and healthy – at least as long as the incidences are so gigantic.
Masks are an expression of solidarity
But instead of regarding the masks as the pragmatic instrument that they are, their rejection is justified with another trick – as an instrument that almost justifies freedom without regard. Thanks to the masks, those at risk can finally protect themselves, it is now said. Let those who need them wear them and leave everyone else alone, if you please. At the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a stronghold of science, it is future forbidden even to ask othersto put on a mask as well.
What an absurd twist! It is true that FFP2 masks, unlike simple surgical masks, are primarily used for self-protection. But of course this protection is improved if the environment cooperates. Where there are only mask wearers, there are undoubtedly fewer viruses flying around than where only a few volunteers keep their mouths and noses covered. It should therefore go without saying that people who are particularly vulnerable can ask others to help protect them. Actually, they should even be able to expect that because the state maintains the mask requirement.
But the elimination of this obligation will very likely mean that fewer and fewer people will filter their breath. Wearing a mask then becomes a symbol of fear or weakness. Wearing masks is more than a sign that you must not or do not want to get infected. It’s an expression of solidarity. It would be nice if many people would show this solidarity. Freedom is good. But freedom without responsibility is not freedom, it is selfishness.