It's been five months since COVID-19 has made it's huge mark on the United States. Instead of cases going down, it seems that everybody and their dog has to get tested because everyone seems to have been exposed at some point. I say that from experience. Clearly, there is still no control over this virus. Well, besides one thing, face masks.

The Centers for Disease Control has announced the recommendations of face masks for everyday wear. From homemade cloth face masks to the paper face masks available at Walmart, masks are becoming a new normal for us. I own around 6 cloth masks I made with my sewing machine at home, personally. These masks have been promoted to help protect each other from contracting the virus. It's a "you protect me and I protect you", type of thing. Somehow, though, that has become political.

Since the shutdown that many states went through early on, protests erupted because people wanted to go back to work and didn't want to wear a mask. I can't even wrap my mind around it. There were protests about wearing a piece of fabric. How entitled are we? Our own President wasn't ever seen wearing a mask until this month. Anti-maskers use the argument that wearing a mask attacks their individual freedom. They also claim this is all a conspiracy while hundreds pass away from a virus this country wasn't prepared to fight against. Unfortunately, the fight against masks isn't slowing down.

As schools start making re-opening plans, masks are a hot topic. Many universities and schools have announced that masks will be required. Parents are being put in the difficult position of choosing whether to send their children back or not. How will kindergarten students wear and leave their masks alone? How will teachers properly teach with masks on? These questions are everywhere. Ultimately, it's important to think about what is best for society as a whole. Masks show effectiveness, so they will become just another school supply.

Businesses are also a hot spot for the mask debate. Large retailers, such as Walmart, have announced mask requirements. At the small quilt shop I work at, we required face masks. People are not reacting well to this. I have had my own experience with grumpy customers avoiding our store mask policy. The topic of entitlement comes back up in my mind. These are private stores with the right to require what they want. Why not require something that is helping us fight against a virus that has ruined our year?

CDC officials have said that the use of masks could slow this horrible virus down. Why don't we listen? Why is it political? We need to watch out for each other. If we don't, who knows when life will go back to normal. So, please, just wear the dang mask.