If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the photo of Stacey Abrams that has gone viral perfectly encapsulates the frustration parents have felt the past two years. Recently the wannabe Georgia governor was seen smiling ear to ear while posing for photos in classroom full of elementary school students. All of the students were wearing masks. Abrams was the only person maskless.
Abrams’ photo op disaster is just the latest example in what has become a pattern throughout the pandemic: Democrat politicians shamelessly flouting the rules they force on others. Since the beginning of the pandemic, performative mask wearing has become just another way for liberal elites to virtue signal.
But these liberal elites also think they are better than you and me, and that they’re entitled to live by a different set of rules than the rest of us. This arrogant mentality is why “rules for thee but not for me” has become the Democrat Party’s new de-facto motto. Incidents of Democrats breaking their own rules has become an almost-daily occurrence. And when they get called out on their blatant hypocrisy, Democrats’ response is rarely one of contrition, only fake indignation.
For example, when Los Angeles’Democrat mayor Eric Garcetti was recently caught violating California’s mask mandate at an NFL playoff game, he ridiculously claimed he was merely “holding his breath” during the photo. During the Superbowl Garcetti was once again caught violating his city’s mask guidelines, along with scores of other liberal Hollywood celebrities. Likewise Abrams didn’t apologize for making everyone around her wear masks while exempting herself. Instead she played the race card, cynically suggesting that any criticism of her hypocrisy was rooted in racism.
The larger problem however isn’t that Democrats are hypocrites – even though they are. It’s how they are hurting America’s children. By now it is well documented the terrible toll that school closures and Democrat policies have taken on America’s children throughout the pandemic, from increased mental health challenges to learning loss. That’s true when it comes to forced masking too.
Doctors have been clear that forcing masks on young children isn’t following the science and does far more harm than good. Children with special needs and disabilities are suffering the most from Democrats’ forced masking policies.Studies confirm that masks hurt children’s social development and ability to make friends at a young age. And remember, masks have little effect on slowing the spread of COVID among young children, and fortunately the virus poses an extremely low risk to them.
All that many parents have been asking for is the freedom to make decisions affecting their kids’ education. And most parents know that powerful adults forcing five-year-olds to wear uncomfortable masks all day is cruel and wrong. And yet power-hungry Democrats like New York governor Kathy Hochul are continuing to keep masks mandates in place for young students. It’s the same story with Joe Biden, who continues to play politics and ignore the science by supporting universal masking in schools. Some Democrat governors have recently announced that they are phasing out their states’ mask mandates in schools. But their about-face isn’t because the science has changed – it’s because Democrats’ political fortunes have.
The election results in Virginia last November were a wakeup call to many Democrats who were shocked to learn that parents still want to have a say in their children’s education. But long before November, Republican governors like Florida’s Ron DeSantis andTexas’Greg Abbott had been leading the way on getting their states back to normal. Yet at the time Democrats lambasted Republican leaders who correctly said that we need to learn how to live with COVID as being dangerous and anti-science. And the fact that liberals are decrying governor Glenn Youngkin’s move to end Virginia’s school mask mandate while his Democrat counterparts are doing the same shows that for Democrats this is still about politics, not public health.
Americans have had enough of Democrats’ hypocrisy, failed policies and obsession with power and control. It’s time to take to unmask our kids. It’s time to allow them to enjoy the childhood they deserve. And this November it will be time to elect more Republicans who won’t politicize children’s futures and instead get us back to normal.