First, a confession. I love Star Trek. Now put a pin in that, we will come back to it.
The other night as I sat at a school committee meeting in our district and looked over the remarks I had prepared for public comment, I did so with some trepidation and even more confusion. The big issue for this meeting was the expiring state mandate for masks in schools. The Governor’s executive order expires on September 18 and though it seems likely he will extend the order, districts have to prepare their own policies if for some reason he fails to do so. Sitting in the cafeteria of the school a few things struck me as odd:
1. For some reason we are still debating the efficacy of masking. This is astounding.
2. There are parents making the facile and foolish argument that wearing a mask in school in some way violate their children’s freedom.
3. That even though on the School Committee agenda it says that all those in attendance must wear a mask, there were several people in attendance not doing so. I am sure these folks thought they were making some sort of statement or that they see themselves are freedom fighters or some other nonsensical patriotic trite. Furthermore the School Committee did nothing to try to enforce its own policy and the person charged with enforcement, the police officer, was also mask-less.
So the meeting was off to a great start.
A few parents spoke in support of ending the mask mandate in favor of a mask optional policy citing the sacred right to freedom and for having the ability to do what is right for their own children. One claimed that because the kids are not sick, they should not have to wear masks. He claimed that asymptomatic spreading is a big lie and that parents are all responsible and none would ever send their kids to school with they are visibly sick - I could not help but laugh at that one. Another parent claimed that wearing a mask is making children all over the country pass out, that their oxygen levels are low and that they are being poisoned by CO2. The fact that we have seen none of this reported is just more evidence of the biased media who wants to have us live in fear… or so she says.
As much as all of these arguments are nonsense, they are also fairly widespread, and for the most part I do not take them seriously. The parents making them strike me as people who are just used to getting their way all the time and have not learned how to react when they are told, “No.” They are people who believe that their opinions are as valid as experts in the field… any field. They believe that their google searches are equivalent to actual research and that reading the results of a study conducted by scientists is the same as conducting the study themselves. There is some serious Dunning-Kruger goin on here. Again, none of this was surprising, but it’s just exhausting having to listen to these people howl at the moon all the time.
There was one significant addition to this repetitious foolishness and it was this that reminded of Star Trek, specifically, the Genesis Trilogy: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Bear with me…
Star Trek II ends with Spock sacrificing himself for the crew of the Enterprise. He exposes himself to deadly radiation in order to fix the ship’s warp drive so the ship can escape harm. As Spock slowly and painfully dies, his best friend, Kirk, comes to his side and though they are separated by a protective glass wall – they can hear and see each other. Right before Spock dies, they share a brief conversation:
Spock: Do not grieve Admiral, it is logical. The needs of the many…
Kirk: Outweigh the needs of the few.
Spock: Or the one.
In the next film, it is discovered that there may be something of Spock’s essence or soul still out there and the crew that he saved decides to disobey orders and steal the Enterprise to find that essence. Their collective sacrifice is in direct opposition to Spock’s logic of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the one. They risk their lives and the careers for the chance to bring back their friend. In the Star Trek IV, Spock’s soul, now back in his body, struggles to readjust to life. He is often confused and is forced to relearn not just information, but who he really was. His mother asks him, “Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of few?” Spock responds that the statement is a truism. His mother says that if so, he exists because of a mistake made by his flawed friends. Spock’s reply, “Humans make illogical decisions.”
This theme of sacrifice, which runs through these three films, was at the forefront of my mind as I waited my turn to speak, listening to public comment – especially when one particular, concerned father spoke. He said that though he is not unfeeling towards the immunocompromised and those suffering from ailments that do not allow them to get vaccinated, he nonetheless demanded an end to the masking policy. He said the healthy 99% cannot be expected to make such an intense sacrifice (wearing a mask in school) in order to help save 1% who may get sick and/or die. He stated that for those in this position, there are other educational opportunities and they must explore those rather than burden others (again, wearing a mask). It also should be noted that during the previous week of school, three children out of thousands attended school in the district without a mask on, yet he wants others to explore other educational opportunities? Perhaps he is the one who should do so if mask wearing is truly such a burden. He, along with his wife and children, were unmasked at this school committee meeting in defiance of the state mandate and the rules of the school committee itself.
I was floored with the callous attitude towards the vulnerable; floored by his protests against such a pseudo sacrifice as mask-wearing in favor of zero mitigation and a survival of the fittest attitude. In closing, he again shared that he was not uncaring towards those suffering or who may suffer in the future, but it was clear to me that these comments were there only to make himself appear less cruel with all the words that were in between his bookends of “let the weak fall” ideology.
Art sometimes imitates life and I wonder if the Genesis Trilogy was made today, what that scene would look like. Would Spock be so eager to sacrifice himself for the good of others? Would the crew be so eager to sacrifice themselves for him… the one? Or would there be a mad dash at personal happiness and comfort at the expense of those suffering. In the film the big question is not who should make the sacrifice, but rather who will make it first. In today’s reality and clearly with this gentleman at the meeting, the question is a bit different presenting itself as, “why should I sacrifice my comfort to help protect the weak?” Again, the “sacrifice” is wearing a mask and the cost of that sacrifice is a temporary, mild annoyance.
Finally, what would the updated dialogue be for the dramatic death scene in Star Trek II?
Spock: Do not grieve Admiral, the good of the many…
Kirk: Is outweighed by the comfort of the few
Spock: Or the one.
Edit: My comments from the school committee meeting:
Good evening,
My name is Mike Xiarhos and I am the father of a second grader in the district and a soon to be kindergartener. First, I would like to thank you all for continuing to serve on this committee during such a difficult and combative time.
It strikes me as odd that we are still arguing over the efficacy and safety of masks, especially considering the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the Rhode Island Department of Health have all recommended masking in schools. We have the advantage of see how the mask optional policies have played out in schools around different parts of the country, and it has not gone well; thousands of students quarantined and soaring Covid numbers. It’s sort of funny to think that folks are arguing that wearing a mask in school is disruptive to the educational process but seem to miss the reality that quarantines and illness are the real disruption. I am a teacher in a different district and I wear a mask all day. It is not disruptive or an infringement of my rights, but it is a bit annoying.
We live in a time period in which everyone seems to think they are experts in everything, today it is Covid and epidemiology. The truth is, not everyone’s opinion is valid. Not all opinions are created equally, and your Google Search is not research. I am not an expert in any of this stuff. The parents in the audience here are not experts and you folks sitting here on this committee are not experts. The experts have given you the guidance to best keep kids safe. Again, it is important to understand, my opinion does not matter. The people behind me in this room, their opinions don’t matter. And with all due respect, your opinions do not matter. You are not experts. You are charged with keeping the kids, all kids, as safe as possible and this mask mandate is a no-brainer. If you decide to vote against masking and kids start getting sick and/or quarantined, make no mistake, that is going to be on you. We know that masking will not prevent every single person from getting Covid, but it is one tool we have to mitigate the risk, especially at a time when our littles cannot yet get vaccinated.
Another parent spoke earlier saying that parents are responsible and would never send in a child who is showing symptoms. That is laughable. Again, I am a teacher and I can tell you kids are coming into school every single day with symptoms.
Finally, if you are going to have a mandate, enforcement is essential. At the top of your own agenda for this meeting it states that per the Governor’s executive order all people entering a school building needs to wear a mask and yet there are people in this room right now without a mask on and you folks are doing nothing about it. That speaks volumes and sets a horrible example to our kids. Basically, if you don’t like a certain rule, just don’t follow it.
Thank you for your time.