Two words returned to the media in recent days that should raise the blood pressure of freedom-loving Coloradans: mask mandates.

The arrival of two new COVID variants sparked nervous Nellie stories about whether it’s time for a return to public and private entities demanding we wear pieces of cloth or paper on our faces. 

What caused liberals to nostalgically recall those happy days of kowtowing to government mandates demanding we stay in our homes and –  if we must leave – wear masks everyplace?

First, there is a cyclical period that has caught some by surprise known scientifically as “autumn.” Kids heading back to school and everybody spending more time inside bring a rise in all kinds of sicknesses – colds, flu and COVID.    Numbers are rising. 

One of the new COVID variants in the spotlight is BA.2.86, known as “Pirola.”  (Note the spelling: it’s not named for Colorado Sen. Kevin Priola.)

While epidemiologists say this one could be a bit more contagious, they also say that, like other variants, it could surface and then burn itself out. And this variant got media attention because there are 12 cases globally as of this writing. Not 12 million. Not 12,000. Twelve. 

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This surfaced many reminders of the multi-year, over-the-top, emotion-driven mandates rooted more in virtue signaling than in science. It was a period of panic over prudence. A priority on demands for compliance over common sense. 

This time, count me out.

Now, if you have a condition, such as compromised immunity, where medically you should wear a mask, wear it.  And if you are one of those folks whose happy place is driving with a mask on by yourself with the windows closed, be my guest.

Indeed, if you want to wear a wastebasket on your head as the ultimate protective device, you do you.

But count me out of the mandates. We should have learned our lessons, but already “Masks Required” signs are making a comeback around the country. 

Have they forgotten? And will people resist and remind the authoritarians the needless mask mandates damage not just our freedom, but also the economy and good jobs when people are dissuaded from going places, such as concerts or the movies, or to dinner?

It became clear early in the pandemic the lockdowns, social distancing and cheap paper masks were too extensive, lasted too long, and accomplished too little. The recovery still continues and in some places, such as downtown Denver, where once-sought-after high-status office buildings have rock-bottom occupancy rates and face foreclosure, a full recovery may never come. 

And the lingering damage to kids – who rarely got COVID and if they did the symptoms were often minor – is just now being thoroughly assessed. Test scores have yet to recover to 2019 levels. Educators tell tales of significant, substantive gaps in learning that occurred during the “virtual” pandemic schooling. Most concerning of all is the trend, reported by Chalkbeat Colorado, that girls and young women fared especially poorly in the pandemic isolation, suffering far higher rates of anxiety and depression. 

We need a return to resistance. 

Remember the now defunct Tri County Health Department? It signed its own death warrant with heavy-handed mandates out of step with at least one of the counties that funded it. Douglas County pulled out and stood up its own health department accountable to county elected officials and local citizens. Arapahoe and Jefferson counties followed suit.  

The church I attend – BRAVE Church – lived up to its name by risking government wrath and opening its doors to in-person worship, sans social distancing and masks. The pastor, Jeff Schwarzentraub, expected to be arrested for believing there is a higher authority than government public health officials. This public stand is one of the reasons the church’s attendance skyrocketed to the point it outgrew its large building and had to move to an even larger one. 

Places around Colorado that were loud and proud about being open for business without masks drew diners and customers to the point one Lone Tree restaurant had a sign out front that said, “Welcome to Freedom.” 

And no massive wave of COVID cases ensued.

We cannot allow an emotion-driven idiocracy masquerading as prudent public health crusaders to once again damage our kids, our schools, our small businesses, our quality of life and our freedom.

To borrow a phrase from former First Lady Nancy Reagan, if somebody demands that you put on a mask, what do you say?

Just say no.

Sean Duffy, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Bill Owens, is a communications and media relations strategist and ghostwriter based in the Denver area.