Love, kindness, honesty, respect, creativity and freedom are necessary for human flourishing. Sadly, many still embrace the mask as if it is the only truth that exists. If society is to change, all will need to see and peel away the polish. Then, we will have to work together to replace the emptiness it covers with a society rooted in genuine morality and positive human values.
Mainstream media outlets will not even touch them because they go against the narrative that all of the governments’ measures were right and necessary to protect people from the dangers of Covid. That leads me to wonder, how can we enable opposing voices to be heard by a wider audience?
Covid restrictions amplified the issues by isolating me from the rest of the world, which caused me to forget some of the self-advocacy and socialization skills that I worked to develop throughout my life. Forgetting harms a differently abled individual’s ability to participate fully in community life. Many people do not know about or consider these problems.
While wearing a mask, I feel anonymous and inhuman. Few people are willing to approach me for conversation, compounding the difficulties I already face due to my disabilities. My disabilities made people nervous about including me in activities because they were afraid to approach.
