*If we have to wear seatbelts (bicycle helmets, safety goggles, glasses, etc) but don’t want to wear them, then we are restricted in our freedom. (But we gain reasonable safety standards that reduce risk and save lives.)
*If a surgeon has to wash his hands and equipment before operating, but doesn’t want to, then he is restricted in his freedom. (But the surgeon and his profession gain the safety and trust of patients.)
*If we want goods and services for free, but have to pay for them, then we are restricted in our freedom.
(But we all gain a fairer, more functional and sustainable marketplace instead of chaos and plunder; we gain the possibility for such goods and services to exist in the first place.)
The measure of freedom is not whether I can do absolutely whatever I want, whenever I want. It is whether I can reasonably pursue my interests and make reasonable concessions such that others can do the same. There are many competing freedoms. The challenge is to find the best balance or harmony between them.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Where one’s liberty infringes on the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of others, it is necessarily limited in a free society. Nothing new about this.
The issue here is about basic facts. Is there a global pandemic in which a novel virus has the potential to kill millions of people at an exponential rate if left unmitigated? Do masks help prevent viral transmission, and thus many unnecessary deaths? If you answer ‘yes’ to those two questions, then it’s overwhelmingly reasonable to wear a mask when, for instance, you go to the grocery store. If you answer ‘no’, then you’re free to speak your mind and support your case via the means that are legally available to you.