Over the course of this pandemic, I've read and listened to very smart people support the notion of mandates...whether for a face leash..uhhhh...mask...or a vaccine. They do so cavalierly, and perhaps innocently ignorant of the implications of ANY kind of mandates. Every mandate is a precedent that lays additional groundwork for further erosion of liberty.
Decades ago, I voiced opposition to seat belt laws and helmet laws, despite firmly believing that everyone should wear seat belts in vehicles, and a helmet on a motor cycle. It's hard to argue against their use, unless one wants to kill oneself. The obvious safety benefits of seat belts and helmets support the claim that laws are not needed in this situation. What is needed is education and reason by anyone who wants to protect themselves.
A common retort to the above is that if one doesn't wear a mask, or doesn't get vaccinated, one is potentially a danger to others. There are multiple reasons why that is not true. The most obvious reason is, "if a person is fearful of catching COVID then THEY should get vaccinated and THEY should wear a mask, a face shield, a body suit, or JUST STAY HOME! They should have faith in fellow, reasonable humans, who are fine with social distancing, and who won't approach others with the sole intent of sneezing directly in another's face.
Another common retort to the above is, "well if it's so obvious that people should wear seat belts in vehicles and helmets on motorcycles, why NOT make them laws?" The answer is "so as not to set precedents that turn our society into sheep, obediently conforming to genocidal economic lockdowns, enthusiastically acquiescing to 'wear your mask' commands, and justifying obsequious compliance by saying, "well we have seat belt and helmet laws don't we?!"
The fact is, there are no epidemiological models that take into account the billions of contributing factors that influece the spread of any disease. At the start of the pandemic, 2.2 MILLION deaths in the U.S. were predicted by Dr. Neil Ferguson. As of this writing, there have been 716K deaths from COVID in the U.S., with a large percentage of COVID deaths credibly estimated to be reported erroneously, e.g., the real cause was a gun shot wound, but hey...who could tell the difference?
If one wants to play the same game as these mathematical modelers, and the mask mandators who are trying to predict and govern the whereabouts of every molecule that leaves our bodies, then the factors they want us to believe they're able to model and govern are in the trillions. Absurdity has no limits in politics.
Until citizens of the world learn, respect, and cherish the TRUE sanctity of liberty, they will continue to slide down slippery slopes greased with seemingly well intentioned laws, and slowly relinquish their life and liberty to those who seek only power.