Over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and people are still looking to get rid of masks, but the U.S should pick up the masking practices and philosophies of other countries like those from Eastern Asia and wear them year round.

Wearing a mask beyond the pandemic should not become required and policed, but if you are not feeling well and/or attending an event with thousands of people, it is a much safer way of living.

Here in the U.S the big issue we run into with masking is due to our country prioritizing individual freedoms and the right to make our own choices rather than helping our neighbors. 

According to Christina Farr at CNBC, despite the efforts of public health officials to strongly encourage masking, not everyone in the U.S. is doing so. “Rallies to protest masks have popped up across the country, with many Americans pointing out that it’s a violation of their personal freedoms.”

Masks are uncomfortable to wear all the time for work and going out, and can cause problems for communication with muffling the voices of others and not being able to see their lips when talking. This is all understandable in why some people don’t want to wear masks anymore, however, the practice of masking, even when slightly sick, is beneficial and is proven to protect others from disease, as shown through this pandemic.

Americans could learn a lot from just looking at how citizens from other countries treat one another, but we think that we are superior and are too stubborn to look at and adapt what is being done in other parts of the world to improve our own country.

According to William Hsiao in a CNBC article, Taiwan and Vietnam have experienced few COVID-19 cases. The reason for this is the “strong feeling that sometimes people have to sacrifice their individual desires and benefits for the sake of their community,” unifying them with a common goal; fight back against COVID-19.

Wearing a mask is an easy way to save lives and keep yourself safe, thus why most Americans should continue to wear them. Anthony Fauci said we should expect to still be wearing masks through 2022, so it’s still best to wear masks and adapt our lives for a while longer, as we are not completely out of this pandemic yet

The whole mask situation is still relatively new to our society, so there are going to be some rough patches. But if we can continue to wear them, it will just become second nature to our lives.