To the editor:

I would like to address the many points made in the letter written by Michael L. Martel in the April 22, 2020 edition of the Barrington Times. Mr. Martel's letter contains a fascinating mix of illogic and selfishness that I believe needs to be countered with common sense and care for our fellow Americans.

Mr. Martel's objection to the usage of fabric masks is based on assumptions that are patently false. We are now being encouraged to wear fabric masks not to protect ourselves from others, but to protect others from ourselves. Masks prevent the widespread dispersal of droplets that contain viral particles. Because individuals infected with coronavirus can be asymptomatic yet contagious for up to 14 days, assuming infectiousness and using a mask to prevent infecting others is in fact a reasonable precaution to take. He also touts the drug hydroxychloroquine, which has been proven to cause heart problems; is of unknown efficacy against the coronavirus; and which has since been unethically hoarded by physicians and the ultra-rich, making it impossible for chronically ill patients suffering from conditions like lupus to access the medication they need to survive.

Moreover, his dire warnings of living under "Martial Law" echo an ethos, beloved by American conservatives, that elevates the freedom of the individual to do harm over the rights of others to be free from harm. Laws are not, by and large, enacted to protect the individual from themselves. Indeed, our democratic republic was founded to protect the powerless majority from the runaway tyranny of the powerful few. America has, however, become an oligarchy where corporate interests run rampant and an ignorant petty tyrant sits in the White House. Yesterday the President recommended that we ingest bleach and shine carcinogenic UV light into our bodies. He was elected by a fanatical base who, like Mr. Martel, believe in the sanctity of the individual's right to make dangerous choices free of consequences -- at the cost of the safety of the people.

Our rights have been at risk for a while now. For example, the right to access affordable medical care; the right to live free of racial discrimination; and the right to vote regardless of race, wealth, or location have all been decimated by a government that prioritizes the interests of the powerful individual (and remember, corporations are people!) over the health, safety, and voice of its citizenry. 

Yet Mr. Martel instead chooses to fixate on freedoms of which he himself feels he has been deprived by the government's "flimsy excuses": going to the grocery store frequently, walking outdoors or on the beach, and smoking. The importance of his ability to do these things apparently outweighs any sense of common courtesy and compassion for others. Mitigating the spread of the coronavirus is not as important as Mr. Martel's right to frequent the aisles of Shaw's, possibly spewing viral particles as he does so. 

Alyssa Smith

Barrington