New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is rescinding his state’s mask mandate in schools. Now the many tiny, fractured districts endemic to New Jersey’s sprawling suburbs and hybrid cityscapes will decide what to do on their own. Most rural districts will decide to pull back, but the story among the suburban and urban communities will be more interesting and a microcosm of broader America.
The NJ suburbs shifted blue in the 2020 and 2018 elections dramatically. The Democratic takeover seemed complete.
But, of course, in the 2021 gubernatorial contest, the incumbent Murphy ceded tremendous ground compared to Biden just a year earlier. The loss of support could have been considered a sign of pushback against Biden’s muddled domestic and sometimes turbulent foreign policy. For the purposes of this essay regarding the COVID-19 and mask debate concentrated in town halls and school boards, however, we will focus on pandemic policy and largely disregard foreign policy issues or blunders. Two years in, pandemic disruptions and frustration among everyday people still reign supreme in American politics, especially in the Northeast of the U.S.
Why is Murphy pulling back now, just one or two months after the Omicron scare that caused such a flurry among businesses, governments, and universities? Eliminating masks in schools seems crazy; just a month after the New Year’s Eve celebration in New York City was downsized in an attempt to prevent an Omicron surge. Murphy is pivoting and avoiding the hysterics when most among the PERMANENT MASK crowd would expect him to call for another lockdown.
Alas, Murphy is a political operator and is aware that his embarrassing finish just months earlier in November hinges on real problems and idiocy surrounding COVID policy. Murphy is forced to admit that the debates in school boards and town halls are real and led by real people, working professionals, with real kids and lives to lead—not just some sad hyper-partisan social media nutjobs that love uprisings and controversy.
Working professionals, regardless of political affiliation or motive, are frustrated because the obstruction of “regular” schooling is causing them tremendous stress.
No matter a person’s adherence to a particular political narrative or orthodoxy, the rage among parents, especially in the suburbs, is real. Kids' social development and maturity have been drastically affected, especially among younger kids. Parents are sick of listening to their kids go on and on every morning railing about hating school even more than usual. And the working professional gets sick of witnessing their child stagnate far behind the typical social and emotional progression of that age group.
These are not abstract concepts. It is not impossible for a young adult or a person in the middle of their career to avoid in-person school and work for two years or a year and a half and re-emerge into society with functioning social skills. But the classroom and playground are where kids learn fundamental social skills and how to deal with problems and get off the ground after suffering a fall during a game of tag or one of those weird gym games. Now the well-meaning liberal will question this line of analysis. Wearing a simple mask is not preventing gym class, they will claim. The notion is not necessarily wrong, but the ability to see and process facial expressions and the complete normalcy of the academic and extracurricular environment are crucial for kids in schools.
The charade of taking masks off for lunch and putting them back on for read-aloud is unnecessary and scientifically stupid. But even if the hypocrisy regarding the optics is ignored, if kids can socialize normally at lunch, they should also see their teacher’s face whether the kid is being praised or reprimanded. Facial expressions and everyday human interactions are a very, very important part of a child’s maturity and development. A normal, unmasked classroom fulfills a core educational and social function for a child and society at large, introducing rapidly maturing kids to a diverse set of classmates and teachers up close.
These problems are real and can not be covered up by merely repeating “trust the science” endlessly. Thus, eventually, common sense regarding kids' education and social development (enabled by vaccines, improved therapeutics in hospitals, and rapid tests) prevails, and mask mandates are ended.
For college students, everything social progresses unimpeded, aside from the very real impact of masks on classroom instruction. So the real question is, when will a private institution like Cornell bend to public will?
It is important to mention that many mask-opposers are also happy to attend Zoom class instead of “real” class because Zoom class is better for cutting class and sleeping in, avoiding the arduous and snowy walk to class. But the efficacy of a collegiate education and someone’s desire to sleep in after a long night is a different matter altogether. We’ve all been there. Those who want to attend class and get a real return on investment from the four years spent at the university should have the freedom to go to class unencumbered.