# Are mandates bad or good?



## Sunny (Mar 24, 2022)

For some reason, the word Mandate seems to scare the bejeezes out of some people. The word itself simply means an official requirement from the government, and can be good or bad. The word itself carries no moral meaning.

A mandate saying that all Jews must wear yellow stars is bad. A mandate enforcing the beliefs of a particular religion is bad.

A mandate saying that people must do all they can to avoid spreading a lethal disease (by staying indoors, oh, the horror!) is good. A mandate saying that guns must be safely locked away in households with children is good.  A mandate preventing cruelty to animals is good.

That's all it is, folks.  Maybe it's time to stop turning it into an evil plot concocted by a bunch of wackos. Demonizing the word "mandate" is the same as demonizing the word "law."

P.S. Since this pandemic is apparently (and hopefully) losing the battle, thanks to science, vaccines, and masking, and yes, temporary lockdowns, maybe it's time to give it a rest already?  The more enlightened segment of the world has prevailed against the less enlightened.  There could always be more variants, including, God forbid, an even worse one than the ones we've had, but since that hasn't happened (yet), isn't it time to put this tired old argument to rest?


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## win231 (Mar 24, 2022)

ROFLOL - _"Put this tired old argument to rest."_ Ya mean like you are doing?  
Ya sure ya don't just want the last word?

I agree that some mandates are good.  Some (like the ones associated with Covid) are based on faulty science, some mandates are used to sell a product, (like vaccines that don't work) some defy logic, some are in place only to show that "They're doing _something_," & some go too far. That's why some _thinking _individuals have a problem with them.
Example:  A mandate (in place in most states) that requires guns to be locked up is fine.  But a mandate that requires guns to be unloaded is not OK & intrudes on people's right to quick access to self defense.  Luckily, no such mandate exists.
A mandate against animal cruelty is good.  But a mandate that forbids shooting an attacking dog (or any attacking animal) goes too far.

Most people have no problem with mandates - provided they make sense & don't endanger anyone.


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## Chet (Mar 24, 2022)

If everyone behaved with common sense there would not be a need for mandates, but even with mandates some still acted nonsensically. Mandates should not be applied without end of course.


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## RadishRose (Mar 24, 2022)

We've been through all this time and time again.


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## win231 (Mar 24, 2022)

RadishRose said:


> We've been through all this time and time again.


Yes, we have.  And who resurrected it?


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## SeniorBen (Mar 24, 2022)

I still wear a mask when I go out in public. I don't want to catch covid, or the flu, or a cold. 

It seems like the latest covid strain is much more contagious but not as deadly as earlier strains and is now dominant since it provides immunity from other strains. I think that's how it works. Who knows? What do I look like? An epidemiologist?


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## Vida May (Mar 24, 2022)

Yeap, a gentleman in a store informed me masks are no longer required and I told him my health does require a mask.   When people do not understand that, it is my preference to distance from them.   As a Senior Companion who visits with people in their homes and gives them rides, I have a responsibility to avoid infecting them.  Some of my people live in facilities where people are locked in their rooms for weeks when someone is infected.  I would feel just awful if I were the person who caused the people to be isolated in their rooms, and possibly cause someone's death. 

It is as wrong to refuse to wear a mask as it is wrong to speed through a town.   Being careless about the health and safety of others is just wrong and I will say so every time the issue comes up.


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## Alligatorob (Mar 25, 2022)

Sunny said:


> "mandate" is the same as demonizing the word "law."


I am not really sure there is much difference, maybe mandates are more like regulations, government rules based on law.  One problem is that some of the recent "mandates" were not well based on law.

I think the debate is more about what mandates are issued...  whatever you call them.


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 25, 2022)

I don't have a problem with mandates or with the friction and non-compliance that sometimes results from them.

That friction and discord are a necessary part of life in a free society.

It helps us to examine a situation and refine the rules/regulations that we are all expected to live with for the common good.


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## Remy (Mar 27, 2022)

Vida May said:


> Yeap, a gentleman in a store informed me masks are no longer required and I told him my health does require a mask.   When people do not understand that, it is my preference to distance from them.   As a Senior Companion who visits with people in their homes and gives them rides, I have a responsibility to avoid infecting them.  Some of my people live in facilities where people are locked in their rooms for weeks when someone is infected.  I would feel just awful if I were the person who caused the people to be isolated in their rooms, and possibly cause someone's death.
> 
> It is as wrong to refuse to wear a mask as it is wrong to speed  a town.   Being careless about the health and safety of others is just wrong and I will say so every time the issue comes up.


That's right. People have no idea why some may wear a mask. They could have compromised immune system or live with someone who does who they want to protect.

Some people, like myself, can't afford to get sick. Remember when we'd see pictures of people wearing masks in Asian countries. I don't think they will ever go away completely worldwide. Not for a long time anyway. If ever.

I was wearing an N95 mask at the dealership when I got a repair done on my car. The woman was nice but stated "I like your mask" (no one in the body shop office was wearing one) I simply stated 'thank you.' I don't know what her deal was, if it was a bait to ask why or what. I don't know why this seems to be so polarizing. I've never said anything to anyone (outside of work where they are required) to wear a mask. At this point, it's simply a personal choice. And I'm seeing all ages wear and not wear them.

As a side note, I look way better with a mask than without one. So win-win.


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## Packerjohn (Mar 27, 2022)

RadishRose said:


> We've been through all this time and time again.


Ha, ha!  You are so right, RadishRose.  I think they are beating that dead horse over and over and over and you know someting, a dead horse is still a dead horse!


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## SeaBreeze (Mar 27, 2022)

Chet said:


> If everyone behaved with common sense there would not be a need for mandates, but even with mandates some still acted nonsensically. Mandates should not be applied without end of course.


I agree, there would be no need for mandates if people acted sensibly.  Also, it's not like the mandates meant the authorities were going to break down people's doors and forcibly inject them with a life saving vaccine during a deadly worldwide pandemic.  Everyone still had a choice, if you wanted to work somewhere that required vaccination, you didn't lose your freedom to abide by their requirements, or leave.


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## SeaBreeze (Mar 27, 2022)

Vida May said:


> Yeap, a gentleman in a store informed me masks are no longer required and I told him my health does require a mask.   When people do not understand that, it is my preference to distance from them.   As a Senior Companion who visits with people in their homes and gives them rides, I have a responsibility to avoid infecting them.  Some of my people live in facilities where people are locked in their rooms for weeks when someone is infected.  I would feel just awful if I were the person who caused the people to be isolated in their rooms, and possibly cause someone's death.
> 
> It is as wrong to refuse to wear a mask as it is wrong to speed through a town.   Being careless about the health and safety of others is just wrong and I will say so every time the issue comes up.


Well said, much respect.


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## SeaBreeze (Mar 27, 2022)

Remy said:


> That's right. People have no idea why some may wear a mask. They could have compromised immune system or live with someone who does who they want to protect.
> 
> Some people, like myself, can't afford to get sick. Remember when we'd see pictures of people wearing masks in Asian countries. I don't think they will ever go away completely worldwide. Not for a long time anyway. If ever.
> 
> ...


Good post. LOL on your last sentence.


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## CarolfromTX (Mar 29, 2022)

A mandate and a law are not necessarily the same. Laws need to be passed by a legislative body. Covid mandates were passed down from on high, usually from governors, and that is where I take issue. Government overreach is never good, and Covid mandates shut down businesses, cost people their livelihoods, and I don’t think they did much good, health wise.  AND I think it was a way for politicians to wield more power.


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## Vida May (Mar 29, 2022)

CarolfromTX said:


> A mandate and a law are not necessarily the same. Laws need to be passed by a legislative body. Covid mandates were passed down from on high, usually from governors, and that is where I take issue. Government overreach is never good, and Covid mandates shut down businesses, cost people their livelihoods, and I don’t think they did much good, health wise.  AND I think it was a way for politicians to wield more power.


 Unfortunately, we do not share a good understanding of nature's laws and democracy as rule by reason.  This is not equal to a king deciding what will be and all the subjects having to obey the king.  Nature's laws mean some things kill us and the miracle of the modern age is we understand that scientifically, and can save lives as never before when people thought disease was God's punishment or demons or witchcraft.  Not only do we have a scientific understanding of diseases, and how they are spread, and how to limit the spread, but with our knowledge, we can save lives.  

I think following the rules to save the lives of others is a matter of good citizenship and it hurts me terribly that that is not how everyone has understood what it means to have a democracy, science, and rule by reason.


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## Silent Rose (Mar 29, 2022)

Back in the day when I was younger I probably would have rocked the boat more on this mandate thing and been more of them trying to force *ME *to do this and to do that. Now that I have grown somewhat older I have changed a bit and think somewhat more of the other person instead of just myself. Now we are at a point in this pandemic where we have a choice whether to wear a mask or not and I choose in some circumstances to wear one and in others not to. The thing is though my first thought when making this decision whether to wear the mask or not is not based on just me it is based on the others around me and where I am at. If I am outside and not a lot of people are in the area, I most likely will not have my mask on. If I am outside in a crowded area and especially if the population is around a lot of elderly people I will probably have my mask on just in case. If I am inside a public space most likely I will have my mask on and like I said it is both for my protection and the others around me as well.


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## Vida May (Mar 29, 2022)

Remy said:


> That's right. People have no idea why some may wear a mask. They could have compromised immune system or live with someone who does who they want to protect.
> 
> Some people, like myself, can't afford to get sick. Remember when we'd see pictures of people wearing masks in Asian countries. I don't think they will ever go away completely worldwide. Not for a long time anyway. If ever.
> 
> ...



 Not only can a mask be attractive but it is really nice in cold weather, or for people who have seasonal allergies.  

 In the beginning, I was wondering if, in the mid-east covering the face had health reasons.  I know in sand storms it is necessary to cover the face to avoid breathing sand.  However, they may have stumbled into knowing a face covering is also helpful in avoiding disease, but from studying history it is evident the reasoning for stories is lost long after the event that started the story, and instead of representing the event, the story gets tied up with superstition.  But the idea of disease being caused by bad air did linger.  

As you mentioned, in Asia masks have been used for avoiding disease for a long time.  And Hong Kong did not have the huge epidemic problem that New York had, even though both are large cities.  

The link includes an explanation of doctors wearing peak masks.  I would bet that is associated with Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing and wisdom, who could be depicted in the form of a baboon or a sacred ibis or as a man with the head of an ibis.  




> The functions and forms of masks
> Many masks are primarily associated with ceremonies that have religious and social significance or are concerned with funerary customs, fertility rites, or the curing of sickness. Other masks are used on festive occasions or to portray characters in a dramatic performance and in reenactments of mythological events. Masks are also used for warfare and as protective devices in particular activities or during inclement weather.
> https://eurjmedres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40001-020-00423-4


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## Vida May (Mar 29, 2022)

Silent Rose said:


> Back in the day when I was younger I probably would have rocked the boat more on this mandate thing and been more of them trying to force *ME *to do this and to do that. Now that I have grown somewhat older I have changed a bit and think somewhat more of the other person instead of just myself. Now we are at a point in this pandemic where we have a choice whether to wear a mask or not and I choose in some circumstances to wear one and in others not to. The thing is though my first thought when making this decision whether to wear the mask or not is not based on just me it is based on the others around me and where I am at. If I am outside and not a lot of people are in the area, I most likely will not have my mask on. If I am outside in a crowded area and especially if the population is around a lot of elderly people I will probably have my mask on just in case. If I am inside a public space most likely I will have my mask on and like I said it is both for my protection and the others around me as well.


Imagine doctors and nurses entering a room for surgery, without washing their hands, or wearing masks and gowns.   Who would not object to that knowing what we know of disease and infections today?

However, a hundred years after scientists saw bacteria with microscopes the medical community still did not understand the importance of sanitation!  Our understanding of the importance of sanitation is relatively new.  And our understanding of vaccinations is even newer. 

When did medical sanitation start?



> In the treating and care of patients, nurse, writer and statistician Florence Nightingale first observed the link between sanitary conditions and healing. Her most famous contribution came during the Crimean War which started in *March 1854*.Oct 31, 2012
> History Of Cleanliness In Healthcare - ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal​



I think we might have a more scientific appreciation for masks, if we were better informed of history and more appreciative of what science has done for us.


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