How’s that tea taste? Are you feeling a little triggered? Do you have a deep sense of “How DARE you?!?” Do you want to speak with a manager? Well, good…

Before I get into it, let me give you some information about how the United States is doing with its response to the coronavirus pandemic:

• In four months, over 120,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus and COVID-19… That’s more people than the total number of Americans who died in World War I.
• The U.S. has MORE THAN DOUBLE the number of cases than the next closest country. That’s 2,280,000 cases… Over 1.25 MILLION MORE than the next closest country.
• Florida hospitals are running out of ICU beds. Many other states are experiencing the highest ICU occupancy right now of any time since the pandemic began.
• The United States is averaging about 900 COVID-19 deaths per day.
• Only 21 states are seeing a downward trend in the number of new coronavirus cases. Eight are holding relatively steady. And 21 states are seeing upward trends week to week… Mostly states that rushed to reopen. States like New York, New Jersey, and Michigan that put strict policies in place are seeing better results.
• Churches are accounting for many outbreaks. West Virginia has seen FIVE different outbreaks because of church services… THIS CHURCH SERVICE in Oregon infected 236 people… 40% of the attendees of this Arkansas church tested positive.
• The European Union has 115 million more people than us & has done nearly as many tests, but this is how their average new cases graph looks compared to ours:

We basically shut down the entire country when there were about 3000 cases in the entire country that we knew of… Right now, there are more active coronavirus cases than at any point since the pandemic began (1,219,722 active cases), and people can’t be bothered to put a mask on while they are grocery shopping. Because they “don’t like the way it feels.” Both the president and the vice president refuse to wear a mask, because they think it will make them look weak (when in reality, the thing that makes them look weak is their lack of intelligence, their dishonesty, and their cowardice). And now today, trump will travel to Tulsa for an indoor political rally, when Oklahoma’s new reported cases average is higher than ever and trending up… Right after Mike Pence outright lied about the number of cases flattening out there. 

And here’s the hell of it: The folks who are refusing to wear masks are the ones who are the most likely to identify as “christian” & call themselves “patriotic.” You know the type… The ones with pictures of crosses and flags on their SUVs and their profile pics. The folks with stars & stripes clothes and “Look at me, I’m am a Christian!” t-shirts are WAY more likely to make a case for why masks are “tyranny.” 

There is nothing more fundamentally Christian or essentially patriotic than doing things for others out of a place of care and concern for the community of people around you. By not wearing a mask when you go out, you are not “exercising your freedom” or “standing up for liberty.” You are simply identifying yourself as an ignorant, self-centered asshole who cares so little for the women & men around you, that you are unwilling to mildly inconvenience yourself for their health & safety. You don’t look tough or brave… You look inconsiderate and selfish. You’re not a freedom fighter… You’re just an ass.

Speaking of asses, this was Kid Rock’s bar here in Nashville this weekend. Don’t worry, y’all… The guy in the middle right wearing a green shirt coughed into his elbow. Everyone should be fine…

The Bible is very clear when it comes to loving our neighbor. If you can’t muster enough love for your neighbor to wear a freaking mask while walking though Kroger, then how dare you call yourself a follower of Jesus. Masks primarily keep other people safe from YOU. You might have the virus, and not know it. Just because you believe your Jesus powers are going to keep you safe from this virus, doesn’t mean you can’t pass it on to someone else. And “Patriotic?” These people tear up when Lee Greenwood starts playing… They cover their hearts for the pledge… They like to think they would volunteer or make sacrifices for their country. But while they’re walking though Lowes, they can’t even make the sacrifice of wearing a mask that might end up saving someone’s life. Or someone’s grandma’s life. Or someone’s friend’s life who has diabetes or asthma or something else that could make this virus even more deadly.

And the people who complain the most about wanting things to “get back to normal” seem to be the ones who are the most unwilling to do this one simple thing that has been proven to lower the transmission of this virus. People who won’t wear masks in public shouldn’t be permitted to complain about places being closed or their routine being changed. If it turns out all the experts are wrong about masks and your friend from high school is right, at the very worst you will have endured a mild nuisance in order to try to keep your neighbors safe. If gathering that basic level of compassion for the people in your community is too much for you, you have no business calling yourself a “Christian” or claiming any sort of “patriotism.” You don’t love Jesus or your country nearly as much as you love “owning the libs.”

WEAR A MASK.

Thank you for reading. I look forward to the angry comments from patriotic christians… I have a new Patron! Her name is Laurie, and she rocks. My job still hasn’t started back up yet, so when people decide to do this, it’s a really big deal for me. If you’d like to help support this blog, you too can BECOME A PATRON. Or you can LEAVE A TIP ON PAYPAL, or Venmo me at “chris-boeskool.” Please also like my FACEBOOK PAGE and FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER for more fun. And for the love of all things good, WEAR A MASK!