Journal-Courier staff, dbauer@myjournalcourier.com

No shirt, no shoes, no service.

No one would be surprised to see such a sign posted on the door of a business, especially one near a spot where lots of folks might routinely be barefoot and shirtless a beach, for example.

For the most part, people dont flip out over the injustice of it all. They put on a shirt and shoes, or they dont go into the store.

But these days, with the coronavirus pandemic raging across the land, theres a small but wildly vocal contingent who view mandates requiring the wearing of masks as some sort of a government plot, an infringement of their rights as Americans.

Theres a word for this sort of thinking: Hooey.

In America, we cherish our liberties. Always have, and always will. But they arent limitless. Never have been, and never will be.

The First Amendment to our Constitution, among other things, prohibits the federal government from silencing the citizenry. It reads, in part: Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. The protections, of course, concern the rights of individuals in relation to their government.

You dont have a First Amendment right to stand up on your desk at work and declare loudly that your boss is a complete idiot. You can try it, if you feel so inclined, but dont be surprised when your boss exercises the right as your employer and shows you the door. In the same way, you dont have the right, as a free individual in a free society, to march barefoot into a beachside restaurant and demand service the rules be damned. Most people understand this, of course, but some get short-circuited when it comes to masks.

Thankfully, the nations largest retailers have stepped up their game by requiring that masks be worn in all of their stores without exception. Those who dont like it dont have to shop at Costco or Walmart or Target or CVS Health or Walgreens or Lowes or Home Depot.

With increasing evidence that masks are effective in cutting the transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, there ought not be any arguments against wearing masks.

Though some havent yet gotten the message, they will next time they head for a store.

The Republican, Massachusetts

Read the original here:

Editorial: Retailers doing right thing with mask mandates - Alton Telegraph