An Open Letter To My Colleagues and Constituents
Last week during the debate on the House virtual committee rule change, several other state Representatives complained that some of us do not wear a mask on the House floor, and called for rule changes to impose an internal mask mandate on all members of the House.
You undoubtedly have noticed that I have pretty consistently chosen not to wear a mask. I want you to know why, and what it does—and does not—mean.
I care about you. Please don’t think that I do not. I empathize with all those who have been touched by the illness, uncertainty, and bereavement that COVID-19 has wrought on so many. I would feel horrible if something I could have avoided caused you to get sick. Nor does it mean that I am unwilling to take precautions that are sensible and effective, which I list below.
COVID-19 is real. Those who characterized people like me publicly on the House floor as thinking that it is a hoax were disrespectful and should know better. My dear wife, who as you know is seriously immune compromised, contracted COVID-19 in October. This was frightening for both of us, but we were prepared. Thankfully, she pulled through just fine, in no small part due to the phenomenal work of Dr. Eboni Cornish, a highly sought after functional practitioner who specializes in treating chronic lyme disease, and who has a stunning track record. Shortly after that, I also got sick with what may or may not have been COVID-19. I will be getting tested for antibodies soon to find out.
I respect your choice to wear a mask. I absolutely do. I do not despise anyone who chooses to take what is to them a very simple precaution for their sake and the sake of others. I merely ask that you extend the same courtesy back to me. Regardless, out of respect for your concerns, you will see me:
Stay away if I am sick or feverish.
Consciously follow careful hand hygiene at all times. This was Dr. Fauci’s advice in February 2020, and I believe it is still the best advice.
Avoid shaking hands, unless you initiate.
Avoid riding the elevator with other people, to avoid making someone uncomfortable being in an enclosed elevator with me without a mask. Instead, I will take the stairs, or hang back until an elevator is free that I can ride alone.
Maintain a respectful distance from you where possible, and turn my ear to you rather than face you while speaking one on one, so that I am not breathing in your face.
Be open to any other sensible, evidence-based precautions that I may not have considered.
So why don’t I just wear the mask? Why make an issue of this?
The evidence doesn’t support public mask-wearing as an effective way to fight the virus. Danish researchers Henning Bundgaard, DMSc and Johan Skov Bundgaard, BSc conducted a recent randomized controlled trial (the gold standard of medical evidence) of 4,862 participants, which found that surgical masks worn in public offer virtually no protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus (https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817). Practically all medical studies on public mask wearing prior to March 2020 have concluded the same thing.
Everything I do communicates a message. Wearing a mask falsely implies that I am sick when I am not. I am conscience-bound to live according to what is true. Anything less will do harm to others. Dr. Jordan B. Peterson advocates this in 12 Rules for Life: “Tell the truth—or at least, don’t lie.” Wearing a mask also falsely implies that you are safe, even though you are not. By promoting universal public masking in spite of the evidence, we defraud the public and offer a false sense of security.
Mask hypocrisy is abundant. When politicians feel secure around friends, they take off their mask. One evening last week, I personally witnessed many unmasked politicians and lobbyists socializing over drinks in a popular restaurant near the capitol building. Just hours earlier, when those individuals were in public at the statehouse where a reporter might see them, every one of them were dutifully wearing their masks. I won’t participate in living out a lie.
No one gave us the authority to practice medicine, and that even includes those of us on the House medical committee. We aren’t doctors, and even if we were, no doctor has the right to force an unwanted treatment, intervention, or prevention on a patient. If a doctor cannot force a patient to make a certain medical decision, neither does a politician. For doctors, it abusive. For politicians, it’s tyrannical.
Each individual is unique, and when we mandate a one-size-fits-all medical decision for everyone, people get hurt. Inevitably, there are going to be people with legitimate reasons why they cannot and should not wear a mask. What about the people with asthma? What about the people who have ongoing lung struggles due to COVID, and are trying to re-enter the workforce? What about the people who have been assaulted, and suffer PTSD related to a strangulation attempt? What about people with religious convictions about covering up their face? All these and more are out there, and in any other time, there would be no lack of politicians taking up their cause. Why are these same politicians willing to harm them now by forcing them to wear a mask?
Here’s the bottom line: not one of us has the rightful authority by force of law to make anyone wear a mask. Medical freedom didn’t used to be a partisan or political issue, and it should not be, but the battle lines have been drawn. Don’t think for a moment that freedom-loving South Carolinians are going to sit by quietly and let the state take away their rights and harm their families with medical mandates. Neither will I.
One final thought: nobody makes a person run for office. Doing so is a voluntary choice that comes with all sorts of risks besides catching COVID-19. If those risks are no longer right for any elected politicians, they should step aside and let someone else take the job.
If there is anyone out there who wants to have a serious and open-minded discussion about anything I’ve said, you have and my word to listen and be respectful.
Sincerely,
Rep. Jonathon Hill