Firework Bans and Wearing Masks

Source: Saul Moya/Wikimedia Commons

Arguments sometimes come in the form of an analogy. They don’t provide deductive proof but can provide a very good reason to accept a conclusion. In my home (farm) country of Oklahoma, bans on intentionally setting fires (e.g., to clear cropland) and setting off fireworks on Independence Day when the county is dry (i.e., hasn’t seen much rain) are common. Consequently, an analogy I have recently heard is this:

Requirements to wear masks during a pandemic are like burn bans and firework bans during dry season or a drought. Both are special temporary laws for special circumstances meant to protect the safety of others. Those who ignore burn and firework bans show a casual and reckless disregard for the safety of others that should be frowned upon. Thus, those who ignore mask ordinances (don’t wear masks) during a pandemic show a casual and reckless disregard for the safety of others that should be frowned upon.

Analogies stand or fall on the relevant similarities of the things being compared. And in this case, since both fire bans and mask requirements are special temporary laws for special circumstances meant to protect the safety of others, the similarities are pretty strong. Thus, so is the analogy.

Now, an analogy can sometimes be weakened by relevant differences between the things being compared. For example, lighting fireworks is a celebration of freedom on Independence Day. Not wearing a mask is not. But this actually strengthens the analogy. If “but my freedom” doesn’t work as a reason to ignore a ban on lighting fireworks during a drought—and lighting fireworks actually is a celebration of freedom—then that excuse definitely doesn’t work to defend ignoring mask requirements.

Maybe the imminent danger of lighting a fire or fireworks during a drought is a bit easier to “see” than the danger of not wearing a mask during a pandemic. People more readily understand how a small fire can lead to a big fire during a dry season than they can understand how a disease spreads. Indeed, some people think that cloth masks are meant to protect the wearer when masks actually protect others. And even if people understand that, since viruses are invisible and COVID-19 can be asymptomatic, people may still not understand why they need to wear a mask. “I’m not sick. Why do I have to wear a mask?”

This weakens the analogy only slightly, however. It only means that, if people are ignorant about the science behind masks, they are not as guilty of “a casual and reckless disregard for the safety of others.” They, instead, are guilty of not knowing the basic facts one should know during a pandemic. At this point, not knowing how and why masks prevent the spread of COVID-19 is like not knowing that and how fire can spread. (Notice how the ignorance in both cases still endangers others, just in a different way.)

But people’s ignorance doesn’t change the scientific facts on the ground. Thus, even those who are ignorant still should be wearing masks. And for those who know the facts (which now includes everyone reading this article), saying “I don’t need to wear a mask because I’m not sick” is like saying “I can safely ignore the ban because I’ll be careful.” No! There are factors here that are beyond your control. You can’t always control how a fire burns or how fireworks go off, no matter how careful you are. In the same way, you can’t know that you are not sick (because COVID-19 can be asymptomatic—you could be infected and contagious without knowing it). When you are dealing with conditions where a fire, or a pandemic-level disease, can spread wildly out of control, you just have to assume the worst and play it safe. Because, if we aren’t careful, it will spread out of control—and that would be disastrous.