An analysis piece on CNN deals with the widespread refusal of Americans to wear protective masks as directed by competent authority. The article begins: “America was born in rebellion and it’s a spirit that still runs deep in its character.” A “spirit of rebellion.” I am not sure what this means. Does it mean resistance to injustice, to predatory capitalism, and to racism or an infantile stubbornness that refuses to do the right thing just because someone else told you to do it. The article continues: “If you live in a country where the balance between personal rights and collective well-being falls differently, you might consider the refusal to wear a mask to be pure selfishness. But while plenty of Americans are wearing masks, rebellion is part of the country’s political DNA.” This sounds like a conclusion that Americans are after all children who rebel against common sense and social responsibility. 

The article cites the case of a man in North Carolina who burned up a mask because “mandatory mask use infringes ‘our freedoms.'” What freedoms? Our freedom to do harm?  Does the same idiot refuse to wear a seatbelt and insist on dumping his sewage into the creek. Refusal to wear a mask is reprehensible, but sociopaths of this sort go beyond refusal and send death threats to health officials and caregivers.

And, alas, there are many more than a few of these nut-cases. Americans voted Donald Trump and the Republican Senate into office — talk about a rebellion against common sense and social responsibility. I don’t know about rebellian, but childishness is certainly part of our country’s political DNA.