Dear Editor:

I have been trying to figure out why people don’t wear masks.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are the “unalienable rights” of citizens of this country ... “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.” As good citizens, we make an unspoken commitment to support them – they are our guiding principles.

Putting the pursuit of happiness aside (it is nebulous and hard to define), I have decided not wearing a mask must come down to individuals feeling that their liberty is more important than my life. What is still hard to understand is that I am trying to show, by wearing a mask, that I understand that others’ lives are important. While wearing a mask may be quite annoying at times, I am doing my best to keep them healthy and alive.

Does not wearing a mask signify that you feel that your life is more important than mine?

Peggy Kotin

Boothbay