As local governments and private businesses institute policies requiring individuals to wear masks, conservatives have been quick to denounce these laws and policies on social media as government overreach, claiming that mask mandates suppress freedom. For example, Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, recently said in his podcast that masks are a “civil liberties issue” and that he simply “doesn’t like being told what to do.” Sounds very … progressive.
In recent years, it seems as if many conservatives and Republicans have developed a strong animus toward any regulation. In December of last year, conservative Twitter nearly exploded after four Republican congressmen sent a missive to Attorney General William Barr, beseeching him to enforce obscenity laws. The split is a telling one for conservatism as a whole — and not unlike this current mask outcry.
