This being my 101st official post (hooray!), I feel entitled to offer a humorous riposte to those people who glare and ask me why I’m not wearing a mask. Answer: “Because I’m better looking than you are.” But the real fact is that many of us simply refuse to drink the Kool Aid being poured down the public’s throat by Big Media that masks are critical to protecting everybody’s health. Lately even Dr. Tony Fauci has admitted that the masks are “largely symbolic,” a remark that the same media outlets don’t seem overly interested in reporting.

Face masks have by now taken on the role of “virtue signalling” as those of us who shun them have quickly learned. On more than one occasion now some perfect stranger has glanced my way with obvious scorn to elicit the peevish inquiry, “why aren’t you wearing your mask?” I suppose it’s because I have nothing to hide ~ after all, isn’t that the more common purpose of a mask, to hide one’s identity? As for any hard scientific evidence that, outside of hospital settings, masks reduce the risk of infection ~ there simply isn’t any. Some doctors have openly said the opposite in fact; that masks may actually become a source of infection to the wearer. After all, the darn things collect, store, and concentrate bacteria that would otherwise be harmlessly dissipated into the environment.

Everywhere I go now looks like some B-grade zombie movie set portraying the end of the world. No one smiles – or if they do no one will ever know it. But all the clamor about public health appears to be more a smoke screen than any validated concern. The real agenda seems to be conditioning people to behave like Pavlov’s dogs, responding to whatever dog whistle authorities feel like sending out. Remember H.G. Wells’ novel The Time Machine where the air-raid sirens signaled those still living above ground to deliver themselves into the bowels of the earth as food for the cannibalistic Morgoths? The presumed signal for retreating into underground “safety” was, in fact, just a dinner bell for their masters. Mr. Wells seemed to be warning us of just what can happen when people forget, or loose the ability to think.

But I have a far more pressing objection to the thoughtless donning of face masks. In essence these grotesque face coverings are nothing more than facial condoms. They serve as the perfect expression of our pathological contraceptive culture. The hateful things are truly condoms because they are meant to do exactly the same thing as any other condom, to protect one person from “infecting” another person (another ironic twist – as if the inception of new life equates with a viral infection). For years now public schools have been handing out condoms to young adolescents for their “protection.” In line with that objective, society has now devised this new form of facial condoms so that we don’t “infect” one another, again for everyone’s “protection.” Notice how even the language used to justify both types of condoms is identical?

But facial condoms contravene (as do their latex cousins) the very essence of our human nature which is to interact, to love, and communicate with others something of ourselves, and vice versa. To place an artificial barrier between those natural relationships by which God intends to brings his people closer together is nothing less than a diabolical ploy. Consider that the principal organ of social communication is one’s mouth, which explains the existence of language. And yet we are being told to hide behind some mask the very mouths which are intended to speak words of love, hope, consolation, and truth to others. And how many beautiful smiles are being wantonly and needlessly suppressed? The condom symbolism should be quite clear ~ we need always to place barriers between ourselves and others because those barriers will make us “safe” even from our own family members.

The most despicable part of the whole charade is the placement of these hateful masks over the innocent faces of small children who, it is well documented, have virtually no risk from infection. But it seems we need to impress on their fallow minds the idea that barrier protections in human relationships are always good and wholesome things. That way, ten years from now, when the school nurse is handing out free condoms, none will question the wisdom of such “protective” practices. For these young children, today’s facial condoms are but a psychological warm up to the wholesale acceptance of the whole contraceptive ideology being pushed by government, medical professionals, and Big Pharma.

Catholic parents and pastors need to wake up to the very insidious signals they are sending to the next generation when they plaster those young faces in “protective” masks.  I am especially distressed when attending a Mass where virtually every member of the congregation is covering the face that God gave them to shine his love and glory upon others. That more resembles a form of anti-community, whose members are instructed to repel rather than embrace their neighbor (plus, always remember the six foot rule, and don’t forget your compulsive hand washing duties).

Pontius Pilate would be exceedingly proud of today’s Catholics, he might even join some parish, assuming it was fully sanitized on the hour. Sarcasm aside, I find it ludicrous that our pastors ever even considered much less actually imposed such draconian abuses of the Christian spirit as we are now witnessing. We have finally outmatched the Calvinists. Cleanliness is no longer next to Godliness, it now exceeds it. Like the cow over the moon it has jumped itself right into top position. Go ahead and smirk, nobody will see you anyway.

Francis J. Pierson   a.m.d.g.