A popular meme has been going around called “the shopping cart theory”, related to what it means to put the shopping cart back in a corral versus leaving in the middle of the parking lot. It looks like this:
- Putting away a shopping cart is an easy, convenient task.
- Most people recognize it as the correct, appropriate thing to do.
- There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is unable to return their cart.
- However, it’s not illegal to abandon your cart.
- No one will punish you for it.
- You’re inconveniencing someone, but you’ll likely never know who.
- The person you inconvenience will likely never know that you’re the one that did it.
It seems to me that’s a lot like choosing to wear a mask. The recent studies I can find show that wearing a mask won’t help the wearer very much, but is more likely to help protect those around them. Depending on when you read this post, the science on that may have changed. That’s how science works. For now, at least, this should hold up.
- Wearing a mask is an easy, convenient task.
- Most people recognize it as the correct, appropriate thing to do.
- There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is unable to wear a mask.
- However, it’s not illegal in most cases to forego your mask.
- No one will punish you for it.
- You’re potentially making someone sick, but you’ll likely never know who.
- The person you cause to get sick will likely never know that you’re the one that did it.
People that put away their shopping carts or wear a mask in public aren’t doing it for their own good — they’re doing it for you and for the greater good.
If you don’t want to follow their lead, you certainly aren’t being forced to. Make the decision that fits best with the world you want to live in.
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