This call about kids wearing masks in NJ schools gave me chills (Opinion)

The content of this call in general is not that dramatic, but in the midst of what we’ve all been through in the last year and a half, we’ve seen the cover peeled off what society truly is and what is lying beneath.

Yes, in many cases, especially in the beginning, we saw people going out of their way to help others.

There were groups of people getting food together to bring to hospital workers. There were organized groups and individuals who made sure the elderly and vulnerable who were homebound got food and whatever else they needed. Then as time dragged on and the government seized more control of our lives, things got a little uglier.

It wasn’t so much the ugliness of the people in charge, who didn’t know their limitations as elected officials or unelected bureaucrats. It was the reaction of the people, or should I say their lack of reaction.

Life is precious, and we should cherish every moment we have on this Earth. As many of us have learned over the years through the loss of loved ones, life is fleeting. The story of our lives won’t even fill a paragraph on a page in the volumes in the history of mankind. So, it is important to appreciate every moment of each and every day.

But what we as Americans take for granted more than life itself are the freedoms we have to live in such a remarkable country. One only has to look at the video and images of the people clinging to an Air Force C-17 cargo plane as it takes off from the airport in Afghanistan to know that it’s true. The fact that people would hang to a moving aircraft and then fall to their death just to escape their own homeland should be an indication of how lucky we are to be here in our country.

To know that fear has gripped us so tightly that we are willing to give up our precious freedoms is more frightening than any virus in any century in the history of the world.

We talked on the air this week about the fact kids must wear masks to go to school in New Jersey come next month. 67% of New Jersey parents are willing to go along with something that makes no sense and probably does more harm than good in my opinion.

To hear a mother say what she said in this phone call made me think, “There it is, we’ve crossed over the line into a world to come that none of us want." Listen for yourself below.

I looked up at the clock and made note of the time. It was 1:29 p.m. Tuesday, August 24. I hope to God that I am being an over-reacting idiot in my assumption. Not for my own sake. I will be long gone when things could potentially get truly ugly. But I worry for my kids and grandkids living in a country and a state that I wouldn’t recognize.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis Malloy's own.