Chip Schoch lyrically “muses” on the Mask War’s new theater:
I went down the polling place
I did not wear a mask
The people, they just looked at me
Nobody dared to ask
“Why aren’t you muzzling up your face”
“Before you cast your vote”?
“We’ve all complied with the experts”
“We’re all in the same boat”
They smiled, or frowned, I could not tell
Veiled as they were
But their eyes seemed to say to me
We appreciate you sir
For at least there’s one who’s not afraid
To live as a free man
To cast off lies and subterfuge,
Against tyranny, to stand
I know it not so great a feat
To leave my face exposed
To not comply bears little cost
When I compare myself to those
Who stormed the beach at Normandy
Who froze at Valley Forge
Who died in trenches on French plains
Who stood against King George
Who marched the field at Gettysburg
Who took to wooden ships
Who forsook all they’d ever known
Who for freedom, they equipped
Themselves with courage, strength and faith
And boldly they pursued
That promised life of liberty
With humble rectitude
Now we scream and rant and rail at
The legacy they left
We mask our face and hide ourselves
Of faith, we are bereft
We look to men to point the way
The blind leading the blind
We crown the “expert” bureaucrat
But truth we cannot find
Surrender we, our legacy
For fear is our new god
With muzzled face, and eyes cast down
Compliance, we applaud
Pretending that we’re virtuous
And love our fellow man
We lock him down, set him apart
We still don’t understand
To mask our kids, to teach them fear
Of that which they can’t see
We teach him how to be a slave
Robbed of all dignity
So no, I refuse to comply
With their masks and distancing
With church on Zoom, with Parsons goat
With voices whispering
For liberty I was set free
By Him, the King of Kings
With unveiled face and outstretched hand
I’ll lift my voice and sing
A small act of defiance
What was it you ask?
I went down the polling place
I did not wear a mask
2:55 pm on November 4, 2020
