[staunch]

This isn't a made up "emergency" being used as an excuse to get people to wear masks...

And the U.S. has a legal system unlike any other country, that has proven itself able to prevent long-standing and unjustified overreach. The Supreme Court is incredibly powerful and has the ability to strike down unconstitutional laws, and has done so many times.

People should be concerned about this issue and pay close attention. But there is very little reason to be very concerned at all. These mask mandates, or even requiring vaccine proof, is not a cover story for a take over of the U.S.

These are extremely rational and justified, and even mild, measures being taken to address a very real and easily verified threat.

The U.S. is not Australia. No one's first amendment rights are being curtailed. Anything anyone wants to say is perfectly accessible to the public. No one is being fined.

And the U.S. is not China or a a banana republic and there's absolutely no evidence that we're in any danger of becoming like either.