To effectively combat unseen dangers, we need visible, tangible reminders. Whether masks filtered out the virus or not was not the point at all. In fact, in early 2020 people were told not to mask. That doesn’t mean masks didn’t play an important role in controlling behavior during the pandemic. I think the strategy to force masking is an extremely effective short term strategy to modify behavior. However it is clear now that the population will only tolerate this for short periods. Compliance is more difficult when you can’t tell the population the truth. If you tell them masks don’t help directly but indirectly people won’t wear them at all. If you tell them they work 99% then some will rightly cry conspiracy and resist, while others will begrudgingly comply. CDC burned this strategy by overplaying it and not lifting the mandates sooner. This means people will be less likely to comply with mask mandates in the future.
