I believe that it is our duty to wear a mask during the pandemic and not recklessly expose others in our sphere of influence to Covid-19. If you are interested, read my analysis.

1. 1
Liberty, Freedom and Rights
Paul Schumann
I am writing about liberty, freedom, and rights because I think that we have become confused about
their meaning. This attempt was brought on because of many people saying that being told to wear a
mask as a part of a protocol to control the Covid 19-pandemic is a violation of their rights as a citizen of
the United States.
These words – liberty, freedom, and rights - are fraught with emotion. I do not expect that this short
essay will resolve any issues. It may however get some of us to think about these words as they get
thrown around in casual use.
I will start with two of our founding documents – The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Early in both documents the word liberty is used:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-
-That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed.” Declaration1
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the
Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.” Constitution2
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Pledge of Allegiance3
And, we have the stature of liberty. “The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the
World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a colossal neoclassical
sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor within New York City, in the United
States. The copper statue, a gift from the people of France to the people of the
United States, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its
metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on October
28, 1886.
The statue is a figure of Libertas, a robed Roman liberty goddess. She holds a torch
above her head with her right hand, and in her left hand carries a tabula
ansata inscribed JULY IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776 in Roman numerals), the date of
the U.S. Declaration of Independence. A broken shackle and chain lie at her feet as
she walks forward, commemorating the recent national abolition of slavery.”4
1
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
2
https://www.annenbergclassroom.org/constitution/
3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance
4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty

2. 2
The declaration states that freedom is one of our unalienable rights. The dictionary states that
unalienable is the archaic form of inalienable. Obviously, this is a compound word. As a result, its
difficult to understand. And there are two ways to break it apart: in-a-lien-able and in-alien-able. The
second one does not seem to fit. The first one does. According to the Business Dictionary5
, alienable
rights are “capable of being taken away or transferable. Right of ownership of a property
is alienable but the fundamental civil, human, and natural rights are inalienable. ... The alienable
rights transferred directly with the transfer of ownership of the property as the responsible party can
only reasonably be one entity.”
This brings us to the concept of “rights”. Wikipedia6
states. “There is considerable disagreement about
what is meant precisely by the term rights. It has been used by different groups and thinkers for
different purposes, with different and sometimes opposing definitions, and the precise definition of this
principle, beyond having something to do with normative rules of some sort or another, is
controversial.”
Broadly speaking, liberty is the ability to do as one pleases. It is a synonym for the word freedom. And
this is unfortunate because liberty as used in the declaration of independence, the constitution and the
pledge of allegiance meant something different than freedom. Moreover, the choice of the liberty
rather than freedom is important.
 In modern politics, liberty is the state of being free within society from control or oppressive
restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.
 In philosophy, liberty involves free will as contrasted with determinism.
 In theology, liberty is freedom from the effects of "sin, spiritual servitude, [or] worldly ties".
 Sometimes liberty is differentiated from freedom by using the word "freedom" primarily, if not
exclusively, to mean the ability to do as one wills and what one has the power to do; and using
the word "liberty" to mean the absence of arbitrary restraints, taking into account the rights of
all involved.
In this later sense, the exercise of liberty is subject to capability and limited by the rights of others. Thus
liberty entails the responsible use of freedom under the rule of law without depriving anyone else of
their freedom. Freedom is broader in that it represents a total lack of restraint or the unrestrained
ability to fulfill one's desires. For example, a person can have the freedom to murder, but not have the
liberty to murder, as the latter example deprives others of their right not to be harmed. Liberty can be
taken away as a form of punishment. In many countries, people can be deprived of their liberty if they
are convicted of criminal acts.
In other words, your liberty, and other rights, stop in our society when they interfere with the liberty of
others in the society. I am not a lawyer, but I would presume that almost if not all law deals with this
type of conflict.
5
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/alienable.html
6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights

3. 3
The constitution adds the word blessing – the blessings of freedom. Blessing originated as a religious
term. But in this case, I think it means gifts.
The first ten amendments of the constitution are called the Bill Rights. They were intended to specify
some of the rights held by the people. Amendments 1 through 8 define specific rights: Freedom of
Speech and of the Press, Right to Bear Arms, Protection of Citizens’ Rights To The Ownership And Use Of
Their Property, Protection against Unreasonable Search and Seizure, Grand Jury Protection, Right to a
Jury Trial, Extension of The Right To A Jury Trial To Federal Civil Cases, and No Excessive Bail.
The framers of the constitution were sensitive to the fact that the rights refined in the first eight
amendments were not the only rights that the people had. The ninth amendment states, “The
enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others
retained by the people.” And the tenth amendment states, “The powers not delegated to the United
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or
to the people.” This and the Declaration of Independence leaves the issue of rights open indefinitely.
It is interesting to note that the word freedom appears only in the first amendment7
. “Congress shall
make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and
to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Freedom differs from liberty in that freedom has no limits. No one in our society or system of governess
to act in any way they desire except for those rights protected in the first amendment (even those are
limited if intended to harm)8
. You do have the liberty to act in any way you want except when your
action violates the rights of others. For example, you have the right to buy a car. And, you have the
liberty to drive the car on public roads after obtaining a license and purchasing insurance (to protect
others). However, you are not at liberty to drive at any speed above the limits set by law. Or, to
purposefully use the car to affect bodily harm on someone.
You have the liberty of not wearing a mask during the pandemic as long as you do not risk infecting
anyone else.
As an example, reckless driving is a crime because not driving recklessly is a duty. “In Texas, reckless
driving is a crime. More specifically, reckless driving is a misdemeanor punishable by:
 A fine not to exceed $200,
 Confinement in a county jail for not more than 30 days, or
7
According to a search of the Constitution in Annenberg’s “Constitution Guide”,
https://www.annenbergclassroom.org/constitution/
8
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the government sometimes may be allowed to limit speech. For example,
the government may limit or ban libel (the communication of false statements about a person that may injure his
or her reputation), obscenity, fighting words, and words that present a clear and present danger of inciting
violence. The government also may regulate speech by limiting the time, place or manner in which it is made. For
example, the government may require activists to obtain a permit before holding a large protest rally on a public
street.

4. 4
 Both a fine and confinement in jail.”9
If you are aware that you have Covid-19 and do not wear a mask in the presence of others, you may
have committed a crime. For example, “Criminal transmission of HIV is now better known as HIV non-
disclosure, which is the criminal punishment for not disclosing an HIV positive status. This can
be intentionally or unknowingly not disclosing HIV status and then exposing or transmitting HIV to a
person.”10
I believe that it is our duty to wear a mask during the pandemic and not recklessly expose others in our
sphere of influence to Covid-19.
9
https://www.enjuris.com/texas/car-accident/reckless-driving.htm
10
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_transmission_of_HIV