King Solomon and the Mask Debate
Last night our school district took four and a half painstaking hours to clarify their “Stay Open Framework” which was ambiguous depending on which way the NH Department of Health and Human Services recommendations went. Potentially, it was a relatively easy conversation to have, except that most board members were just skirting around the issue, playing around with words. Eventually, we got some resolution. When it comes to masking recommendations from DHHS, we’re following them.
Honestly, the conversation was so convoluted that watching the anti-mask folks realize what was happening, was like a slow clap. You could see the wave of realization in their faces, hear the murmurs of clarification and disbelief until finally an explosion when the final vote came in. That explosion was scary, was angry, was not the way kind people, people who are interested in community behave.
Before all this however, there was public comment. It was long and tedious. There was one particular comment, a threat really, that I have seen coming for awhile. That I have warned folks about. That I struggled with as a parent myself. Anti-masker parents threatened to take their kids out of school. Some just long enough to hurt the district in the pocketbook. One mother threatened to unenroll her children until after the October attendance date that is used to determine adequacy funding. That would downshift costs to all taxpayers, that would force teachers to lose their jobs, that would weaken our public education system.
That’s it. That’s the King Solomon moment. They are willing to kill the public school in order to get their way. They said as much.
Now, the other side would have certainly made a similar choice IF the board had chosen mask-choice. I’m certainly not willing to sacrifice my children’s life for the sake of public schools or have her participate in a system that had such blatant disregard for human life. The difference is that pro-mask folks have prioritized the health of others in the community over any self-comfort. They understand that my rights end where yours begin. They believe the part of the NH Constitution that says “When men enter into a state of society, they surrender up some of their natural rights to that society, in order to ensure the protection of others; and, without such an equivalent, the surrender is void.” And, they know that no one has died from wearing a mask, but so many have died from Covid or are suffering from long term effects.
I strayed from this messy metaphor a little bit, so let me bring it back.
We have parents who are willing to kill public education for personal comfort. They are not here to build and sustain community, they are out for themselves, and are willing to spite the thing they are fighting hard to get, so no one can have it.
Public education is the baby whose life hangs in the balance, and we need a lot of King Solomon’s to turn this dire situation around. This isn’t hyperbole. This is happening before our eyes. Let’s go…we might already be too late.
