China News Service, Beijing, December 7th, title: Masks become victims of "overloaded freedom", can American democracy protect people's right to life?

　　Author Shao Yang

　　In the face of the menacing new crown virus Omi Keron variant, the US government recently announced that it will extend the expiration time of the domestic air travel and public transportation mask order to March next year.

But for a considerable number of Americans, this mask order may be equivalent to a piece of waste paper.

　　According to data released by the Federal Aviation Administration on November 30, although the agency requires "zero tolerance" for non-cooperative passengers, since January 1 this year, 3,923 reports of passengers' refusal to wear masks have been received.

At the same time, in campuses, office buildings, gyms and other public places where the risk of virus transmission is high, it is also difficult to promote the mask order in many places in the United States. Different political factions and interest groups continue to stage a tug of war on whether wearing a mask violates personal freedom. .

　　Based on political scientist Samuel Huntington’s warning about the danger of “democracy overload”, the “Ten Questions American Democracy” report released by the Chongyang Institute of Finance of Renmin University of China on the 6th summarized the reasons for the above phenomenon as “overloaded personal freedom”. .

"Overload of freedom" leads to cultural wars that involve energy and waste of resources. "It may lead to the disillusionment of democracy. It also delays American epidemic prevention and is killing Americans."

　　The report pointed out that the protection of "Liberty" in the "Declaration of Independence" is not the same as some people's claim to protect "Freedom" without a mask.

The former is to exercise the right to freedom in an orderly and responsible manner on the basis of systemic rules; while the latter has a broader meaning, and more refers to the antonym of slavery, psychological or personal freedom, etc.

This should not include the "freedom" that causes other people to get sick or even die, and science does not support such "overloaded freedom."

　　In fact, masks, stay-at-home orders and vaccines are key lines of defense against the epidemic for most countries.

A study in 200 countries and regions in August 2020 showed that masks, as a routine configuration or government-recommended areas to wear masks, have a weekly increase in death rate of only one-fourth that of other regions.

The WHO also clearly pointed out that public health measures such as wearing masks and maintaining social distancing are effective for all mutant strains.

　　However, in the United States, small masks have become a new sign of social differences and political divisions, as well as victims of the abuse and alienation of the concept of "freedom".

A considerable number of Americans believe that not wearing masks is "personal freedom", and it has formed a "new crown culture war" together with the opposition to stay-at-home orders and the opposition to vaccines.

　　Instigating this "war" are some American politicians who should be responsible for public health issues.

For example, former U.S. President Trump first declared that he supported wearing masks, but he rarely wears them; even shortly before his diagnosis, he publicly ridiculed Biden, who was later elected, for always wearing masks.

In response to the mask injunction imposed by the current US government, Republican congressmen also jointly issued a proposal that "vaccinators do not need to comply with this order."

Its purpose is nothing more than to use the epidemic as a tool to gain political capital.

　　Although the United States has always advertised itself as a "democracy beacon", in the face of the new crown virus, out-of-focus issues of freedom, and out-of-control mask disputes, all the chaos of American democratic practices are truly revealed to the world.

　　The former director of the London Department of Economics and Business Policy Luo Siyi pointed out that the original meaning of democracy is "government by the people". In the final analysis, it is the extent to which the rights of the people can be realized.

When people discuss democracy, they should focus on whether the rights of the people in real life are guaranteed.

　　Under the epidemic situation, the greatest human right is the right and freedom to live healthy and safe.

According to US media reports, the number of deaths from the new crown pneumonia epidemic in the United States in 2021 has exceeded the total number of deaths in 2020, and is still rising.

According to data provided by Zhong Nanshan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the prevalence of COVID-19 in China is 8.9 per 100,000, which is 1/1678 that of the United States, and the mortality rate is 0.4 per 100,000, which is 1/606 of the United States.

　　Behind these cruel figures and realities, issues that were once taken for granted have surfaced, and are causing the world to think deeply: Does American democracy defend freedom or hinder freedom?

In the face of about 800,000 dead souls who have died due to the new crown, can it really effectively protect the American people's right to life?

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