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WARNING: Spoilers for the entirety of Netflix’s Dark will be found below.

Dark, Netflix’s first ever original German series, finally wrapped up a three-season run with a mind-blowing, twisty, confusing, and ultimately satisfying third season. Over the course of those three seasons, Dark quietly found a sizable worldwide audience and a passionate critical following, scoring rave reviews and deserved comparisons to Twin Peaks and Stranger Things. The series has also been marked by confused viewers, attempting to hold the family trees intact in our minds as characters jumped back and forth in time and, eventually, between two different worlds.

After the first season, viewers needed a family tree (see it here) to keep up. By the third season, the family tree itself was as confusing as the series.

Trying to make sense of the quantum entanglement in the third season is a fool’s errand, and at a certain point, one wonders whether creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar could keep it even in their heads any longer. By the third season, the series was playing mostly in a parallel world, one where Jonas was never born, which obviously meant a different composition of people, and yet, major events still continued to unfold as they did in Jonas’ world.

Season three is a complicated maze, referred to often as a knot, which is the best way to explain it. It’s an infinity symbol that gets tangled in numerous knots, so that older versions of characters who died when they were young are still alive, seemingly defying the rules of time travel. That is eventually explained, in episode six, where we learn that the main characters — Jonas and Marta — are trapped in an infinite loop, and even death doesn’t end the loop, because the characters can simply travel the loop in reverse. Moreover, because everyone’s fate is already fixed, Jonas cannot kill himself and remove himself from the loop, even though Marta had already killed him once. Jonas, meanwhile, had successfully killed the Marta in his world, but most of the events in the third season revolved around the Marta from the world in which Jonas never existed.

Got it? It’s very confusing, and each episode in season three seems to end with another revelation that creates yet another time paradox. However, the important takeaway from not just season three, but every episode up until the end is this: No matter what Jonas and Marta did in either world, the apocalypse would arrive and Jonas and Marta would eventually become Adam and Eva. Adam spent the entire series trying to wipe himself from existence in the hopes of finding himself in a paradise of nothingness. Marta and her allies, meanwhile, spent all of their travels trying to stop the apocalypse that destroyed both worlds.

In the end, both sides kept repeating themselves, and no matter how many times they traveled the loop, it would always end the same way. Every decision they made would lead them to the same place: The apocalypse would wipe out both worlds, but neither Adam nor Eva would die. From what we gather, this same pattern continues to repeat itself hundreds of times until Claudia finally figures it out: Jonas/Adam and Marta/Eva are trapped in a triquetra knot that originated outside of both of their worlds. WHAT?

Basically, what happens is this: A grieving H.G. Tannhaus — the clockmaker from the first season — created a time machine in an effort to undo the death of his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild. The time machine malfunctioned, splitting his world into two: Jonas’ world and Marta’s world. Neither of their worlds are supposed to exist, but Marta and Jonas’ love for one another basically keep these two worlds intact, traveling their infinite loops between roughly 1890 and 2050. It is, therefore, on Marta and Jonas to return to the original world to prevent the son and daughter-in-law of Tannhaus from dying in a car accident, thus removing Tannhaus’ need to invent a time machine. Without the time machine, the worlds of Jonas and Marta never exist, and neither do Marta and Jonas (or most of the other characters in Dark), who can finally achieve their Paradise of nothingness.

However, those two worlds do have a small impact on the origin world: Marek, the son of Tannhaus, names his child Charlotte — an orphaned girl raised by Tannhaus in the other two worlds — and Hannah, who is married to someone else completely in the origin world, still names her child Jonas after an intense episode of deja vu.

Still, the final season is a mess of fits and starts, dead-ends and deaths, none of which ultimately matter because most of these characters will not exist in the end. Even the final episode is 25 minutes of exposition, as Claudia tries to make sense of and explain the origin world to Adam/Jonas. There’s very little character development — or even much of a story — in the final season. It mostly amounts to characters traveling back and forth through time in two different worlds and never accomplishing anything, which is by design.

Moreover, the introduction of a third, “origin world” in the final episode almost feels like a Deus ex Machina — one that will eventually wipe out nearly every event in the first three seasons — but ultimately it works to satisfying affect because of the emotional bond built between Jonas and Marta in the first season before the two turned on each other. It might have otherwise felt cheap to suggest that these two bastard worlds continued to exist on an infinite loop because of “love,” except that Dark spent three seasons ensuring that the love between Marta and Jonas was intense and believable, so that when they finally do disappear — in all the various timelines — it’s a bittersweet and satisfying relief. It’s such a sweet emotional conclusion that, even after spending three seasons characters who will be rendered nonexistent, I did not feel cheated.

It’s not about the destination, as they say, it’s about the journey, and this journey was a marvelous roller-coaster ride through numerous timelines and two different worlds, all of which would eventually be wiped from existence, while the characters continue to live happily ever after in nothingness.

Netflix’s ‘Dark’ is currently streaming.

Fans have celebrated the life of the late Pop Smoke this weekend thanks to his posthumous debut album, Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon. The album unearthed many of Pop Smoke’s unreleased records, all of which highlighted the new direction that late rapper hoped to take on his project. As fans continue to enjoy the new music they received, 50 Cent stopped by Lil Wayne’s Young Money Radio show to discuss his first-ever meeting with Pop Smoke.

“First of all, he was late to the meeting,” the rapper said. “When he was late Renee, dude who works for me, goes, ‘Yo, why are you late, bro?’ He said, ’50 don’t work for you. You wait for 50. You new.’ And he was like, ‘Oh, my bad.’ Like he said, ‘I just got caught in the trap.’ No, you ain’t no trapping. You have bags and sh*t in the car you was shopping. He said, ‘Yeah, I was. I was shopping.’”

The rapper then shared his thoughts about Pop Smoke and his style as they talked during their first meeting.

He comes upstairs. I talked to him. I’m like, Wayne look, this… someone new in the league is copying your style? And even at that point, it’s a form of flattery. He’s copying you because your material was such an influence on him and that’s the way he learned to do it. He learned it from listening to you. It’s another thing when this n**** talking to you and you looking at him, you going, “Nah this n**** not copying 50 Cent. This n**** is 50 Cent!”

In addition to executive producing the album, 50 Cent also appeared on “The Woo,” which also featured Roddy Ricch. Just a day after the album’s release, a Pop Smoke associate revealed that a deluxe version of Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon could arrive in the near future. Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon is out now via Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records. Get it here.

During the current worldwide pandemic, movie studios are no longer providing box-office figures because theaters have been shut down around the nation and the world. Because we are less interested in the actual figures themselves and more interested in what people are watching over the weekends, each week we will dive into Most Streamed and Bestseller Lists on Fandango, iTunes, Netflix, and Hulu to pinpoint the weekend’s most watched films.

Disney+ does not release streaming numbers or charts — at least not yet — but as of mid-May, there were 54 million subscribers to Disney+. It’s safe to say that a majority of them watched some or all of Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton over the Fourth of July weekend. It’s also safe to say that a lot of Disney+ subscribers probably watched the two-hour-and-four-minute Broadway production multiple times. Walking has become a very popular activity during the pandemic, and I suspect that there were people all over the nation taking walks around their neighborhood this weekend, looking into the windows of houses dotted along those streets, and seeing Hamilton playing on millions of television sets in those living rooms.

In fact, I cannot imagine a better way to spend Independence Day than by watching one of the most successful musicals of all-time, which also happens to be about Alexander Hamilton, our Founding Fathers, the fight for Independence, as well as how the first years of this country were shaped. There are 121 reviews of Hamilton on Rotten Tomatoes and, so far, there is only one negative review. It is that good.

Meanwhile, on the VOD charts — and on the other side of the political spectrum — Mel Gibson’s Force of Nature debuted at number 5 on Fandango’s charts, and number three on iTunes, despite a meager 12 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The film stars Gibson and Emile Hirsch (both of whom have problematic personal histories) as white cops battling Puerto Rican villains during a hurricane. It’s hard to believe the movie came out in this political environment, but there always seems to be an audience for Gibson, even in supporting roles, as he is here.

The top film on iTunes, meanwhile, is The Outpost, a Rod Lurie film starring Scott Eastwood and Orlando Bloom, based on a book written by CNN anchor Jake Tapper, which itself is based on the true story of 2009 The Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan. It’s also receiving very good reviews (89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), and while I haven’t seen the movie, Jake Tapper can typically be trusted when it comes to veterans and the military, toward whom he has devoted much of his career.

Otherwise, there are a couple of increasingly familiar titles on VOD in Pete Davidson’s King of Staten Island, which is still doing well nearly a month after its release, and Jon Stewart’s Irresistible, number four on both iTunes and Fandango’s VOD charts. As for fun wrinkles in this week’s chart: Will Smith’s Independence Day is at number six on iTunes, for obvious reasons.

Meanwhile, over on Netflix, it’s an unusual weekend, in which two old Boston-set movies are leading the way. Mark Wahlberg’s Patriot’s Day, about the Boston Marathon bombing, has resurfaced and is at number one, while Ben Affleck’s fantastic The Town is at number two. Weird. Number three is a Netflix original rom-com, Desperadoes, starring Nasim Pedrad, Anna Camp, and Lamorne Morris. It looks kind of cute, but critics so far are not liking it (it sits at 24 percent on RT).

Last week’s top film, Will Ferrell’s Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga falls to number four, while the film that has spent the most time in the top five this year, 365 Days, is still at number five, inexplicably. It’s also worth nothing that Splice, a fantastic 2009 horror movie that should be more popular than it is, sits at number ten this weekend. It comes from producer Guillermo del Toro, and director Vincenzo Natali. Check it out.

Next weekend sees the release of Tom Hanks’ Greyhound on Apple+, and Andy Samberg’s Palm Springs on Hulu, in what may end up being the movie of the summer. Meanwhile, Charlize Theron’s Old Guard debuts on Netflix, and is expected to do very well. It looks fantastic.

Source: Netflix, Fandango, iTunes

Bill Pullman played one of the most inspiring fictional presidents in cinema history in Independence Day, a film that’s happening on Twitter in real time this holiday weekend. But just because Pullman has no real political power doesn’t mean he can’t make a difference in the public eye. The actor released a July 4 PSA of his own encouraging people to wear masks in public to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

“I may not be your President anymore. But I gotta tell you, the 4th of July is still my favorite holiday and always will be,” Pullman said, which is followed by the final line from his iconic speech near the movie’s conclusion. He then gets right to the point.

“This Independence Day I’m going to be celebrating my freedom maybe in an important way: I’m going to be wearing my freedom mask every time I go into public places,” he said. He stressed calling it a “freedom mask” and explained that it’s a patriotic thing to do despite what other presidents may tell you.

“Because if all of America agreed to wear one of these going into public places we’d be a little closer to being free to safely going back to places like bars and restaurants and schools. And, most importantly, movie theaters,” he claimed. All of that remains uncertain, of course, but it’s been proven that mask use in public when social distancing isn’t possible does, indeed, limit the spread of coronavirus and has been encouraged by health officials for months now.

The PSA was a bit more somber than his bombastic speech in the film, but it was a nice reminder of the film’s anniversary and an attempt to turn a fictional threat against humanity into an opportunity to battle a very real one.

Kanye West once said he was running for President of the United States in 2020 and it looks like he’s sticking to his word. Today, July 4th, Kanye tweeted that he would be running for President in the upcoming 2020 election, writing: “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States. #2020Vision”

Kanye’s announcement immediately sent Twitter into a frenzy as people wondered whether the announcement was true and began to share their takes on it. For some, it was a cause for rejoicing, while others wondered whether the whole thing was a plot to help Trump, who Kanye considers a friend and stumped for all throughout 2018 with a “Make America Great Again” cap despite backlash from both fans and peers. Kanye hasn’t explained whether this means he’ll be running against Trump and as of press date, Trump has yet to respond. Kanye can count among his supporters Elon Musk, who tweeted that the rapper has his full support. However, the filing deadlines for a number of states has already passed, so it seems unlikely Kanye will actually appear on very many ballots — unless he already filed, and just waited til now to make the announcement.

Kanye first said he wanted to run in 2020 at the 2015 MTV VMAs, where during an acceptance speech, he said, “I don’t know what I finna lose after this. It don’t matter, though; It’s not about me. It’s about ideas. New ideas. People with ideas. People who believe in truth. And yes, as you probably could’ve guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for President.”

He later explained his statement in an interview with BBC Radio 1: “We are numb, we’re numb to 500 kids getting killed in Chicago a year, we’re numb to the fact that it was seven police shootings in the beginning of July… we’re numb to places on the Earth that we don’t live – like our life is okay but it’s okay for other people’s lives to not be okay. When I talk about the idea of being president, I’m not saying I have any political views, I don’t have views on politics, I just have a view on humanity, on people, on the truth. If there is anything that I can do with my time and my day, to somehow make a difference while I’m alive I’m going to try to do it.”

See Kanye’s announcement above.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will not have the services of one of their prized offseason additions when the 2020 MLB season begins. David Price, the lefty starting pitcher who joined the team from the Boston Red Sox in the trade headlined by Mookie Betts, announced on Saturday his intention to stay at home this year.

Price revealed his decision in a statement on his Twitter account, citing the health and well-being of himself and his family. He did, however, say that he plans on taking to the diamond in 2021.

Price announced this on what was a notable day for baseball as it is preparing to start this year in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Atlanta Braves announced a handful of positive cases, including star first baseman Freddie Freeman. According to Chelsea Freeman, the four-time All-Star selection is someone who rarely falls ill, but has been in for quite the battle with the novel coronavirus.

https://twitter.com/DOBrienATL/status/1279529857882492928

In New York, the Yankees announced a pair of cases — relief pitcher Luis Cessa, who has mild symptoms, and All-Star infielder D.J. LeMahieu, who is asymptomatic.

It is a tricky needle for MLB to thread, as they really want to get games going but are trying to play in home markets. While this has worked for Korea’s top baseball league and soccer leagues in Europe, all of those places are both smaller and have a much better handle on COVID-19 than the United States. And although Price is the most high-profile name to opt out of the season thus far, there are still other big names, like Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout and San Francisco Giants stalwart Buster Posey, who are contemplating staying home, too.

Anyone who has spent any time around dogs knows that fireworks can be a jarring experience. The fact that they are in a shelter with the uncertainty of not having a home and being caged, combines for an understandably anxious situation. Santiago mentions to azcentral.com, that sometimes the pets can get so stressed out that they can jump out of windows or dig under fences, which isn’t healthy for their psyche. The third annual Calm the Canines event is sponsored by Maricopa County Animal Care and Control with founder Santiago in Arizona. They comfort animals during these worrisome times.

Andrew Bennett

The two locations in the Phoenix area will once again be hosting dozens of people who come to the shelter to calm the dogs during fireworks. Approximately 700 dogs will be distracted from the ominous pounding of fireworks by people doing everything from playing music to reading stories to them. When the shelter first tried out the event, they were not quite sure what to expect. Then 300 arrived at their doors. “We were shocked by the amount of people that showed up and animals were literally falling asleep,” Santiago told azcentral.com.

The volunteers clearly had an effect on the residents of the two shelters. The thunderous booms could easily be heard inside the walls of the canine safe haven. And if not for the kind hearts of the 300 Arizonians, the anxiety would rather palpable. If you get that many kind hearts in an enclosed area with a slew of homeless dogs, well, I am pretty sure I don’t have to tell you what happens next. Spoiler alert: a whole lot of pups just checked out of the shelter to begin their new lives with the warm souls who adopted them.

Andrew Bennett

I am the proud parent of two dogs who have a pretty sweet life. On their worst day, they get a couple strolls around the neighborhood and a frozen peanut butter Kong. That’s their version of a crushing defeat. Usually there is a trip to the dog beach or run on the countless trails near my house. You would be hard pressed to find two happier dogs in West Hollywood. Because of my sometimes too jovial canines, I often feel like a pretty caring person. Then I compare myself to Jose Santiago. Truth is, I feel like I am the senator with the deciding vote that pushed through a bill to make ice cream trucks illegal for children. Jose Santiago, for all you do, this cone is for you.

Andrew Bennett

We have all seen videos of sickening and senseless violence that trophy hunters inflict on innocent animals and been so enraged that we want to book the next flight to Africa and put a stop to it. Well, meet the man that did.

U.S. Marine veteran Ryan Tate came across a documentary on animal poaching one night. “On the show there were some poachers, and instead of shooting the animal, they got a hold of a shootable tranquilizer. It doesn’t make a loud gunshot noise,” Tate told Grit Daily. “They darted a female rhino. She went to sleep and they hacked her horn off.”

She woke up and conservationists found her and wanted to help, but she kept running. She was confused. She was scared. The rhino ended up bleeding out and dying.” That was all it took for Tate to take matters into his own hands and do something about it. That was when he left his job at the U.S. State Department providing security for foreign diplomats and started non-profit VETPAW (Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife).

Tate used the connections he had made while working at the State Department to start working with the federal wildlife parks in Tanzania. He flew over and funded it with his own money. His first order of business was to find out what skill sets the park rangers possessed. He found they excelled at tracking animals, so he combined that with his military skills to create a training program. The rangers lacked the medical training necessary for an operation so far from a hospital.

“Not a single ranger knew first aid, CPR, nor had they ever seen a tourniquet,” Tate said. “We had rangers dying of Malaria. It was unbelievable and so mind-blowing to introduce a tourniquet and antibiotics to rangers. We bring them medical supplies. Some of these guys didn’t even have heels or soles on their boots. They had holes in them. We gave them our boots and we ran around in gym shoes.”

Animal poachers in Africa are extremely dangerous and the rangers are often outgunned. It’s been reported that a kilo of rhino horns is worth up to $65,000. The demand comes from East Asia, where rhino horn is seen as a medicine and a status symbol. It’s met with international networks linking poor villages in South Africa with traffickers and then people who buy it. Law enforcement turns a blind eye and corruption continues.

As Tate explained to Grit Daily, “Wildlife trafficking is one of the top five international crimes. Rhino horns and elephant tusks are very much part of this. When you start messing with their bottom lines, which could be a million dollars for one horn, you get some very dangerous people who take notice.”

Over the past year, Tate and his crew of over 30 veterans trained the rangers and patrolled up to 100,000 acres. They also work with local law enforcement to find poachers in nearby neighborhoods and have them arrested. If there is one group you don’t want to mess with, it’s pissed off U.S. Marines. So poachers, go home, re-think your life and save us all the trouble.

And if there is a “Coolest Guy on the Planet” award, I am pretty sure Ryan Tate is not only a nominee, but a heavy favorite to take home the hardware.

Visit their web site at https://vetpaw.org/ where vets can apply to join the fight. You can also make a donation, as well as sign up for a 10-day experience for which all the proceeds fund VETPAW.

The American flag has been a symbol of the United States for centuries, but what the U.S.—and thus the flag it represents—has meant to different Americans throughout that time has varied greatly.

Imagine looking at the flag of a country that enslaved you ancestors, generation after generation after generation. Imagine looking at the flag of a country that pushed you and your family off your land and broke every promise it made to your people. Imagine looking at the flag of a country where people who look like you have never truly been free in the way other Americans are.

When your country has repeatedly disappointed, failed, or actively harmed people who look like you, how do you find pride and hope in its symbol?

That’s a question explored by two female artists—one Black and one white—in a new photo series, “A New America,” which “explores the complicated relationship of African Americans and the American flag.” Actress and activist Jameelah Nuriddin served as a model while artist Erin Hammond took photos of her in front of a giant, 200-year-old American flag.

Nuriddin explains what inspired the project:

“As a black woman, I’ve always had a strained relationship with the American flag. If I saw a white person with a huge American flag, I would immediately look around for the Confederate flag or wonder how they would treat me. It’s as though extreme patriotism was synonymous with racism.

It changed for me when I listened to the podcast 1619 by the NY Times; in the first episode, Nikole Hannah-Jones speaks about how her father used to always fly the flag in their yard. She reveals how black people are the great perfecters of the Constitution—I’ve also heard it described that Black people are the conscious of America. My relationship with the flag changed. Instead of seeing oppression and hypocrisy when I look at it, I see my ancestors who built this country. Literally. My lineage comes from Georgia and Alabama. It occurs to me that I am not a stranger in a strange land, but that this is MY country just as much as the racist hick—in some ways even more so. I can fight for it, and reclaim it—in the full glory of what it was meant to be.”

In the 8-photo series, Nuriddin combines pledge of allegiance and Black power poses—”The two aren’t at odds, but are one,” says Nuriddin. And the photos are accompanied by a manifesto, written by Nuriddin, that mirrors the Preamble to the Constitution.

Erin Hammond and Jameelah Nuriddin

We, the people, are creating a world where every woman, man, and non-binary human being is met with dignity and respect. We have learned from the mistakes of our forefathers and are building a new America rooted in the complete and total liberation, support and growth of all people …

Erin Hammond and Jameelah Nuriddin

… We cease to subjugate black and brown people, whose ancestors built this country and instead uplift, honor and make amends for injustice …

Erin Hammond and Jameelah Nuriddin

We need to give Lady Justice back her eyes.

Erin Hammond and Jameelah Nuriddin

…Envision a world where all humans are free and equal—where we prize each other over material things—we stand against tyranny and oppression, hatred and fear.

Erin Hammond and Jameelah Nuriddin

We honor the past and learn from those that have come before. We respect the future and leave this world better than we found it. All spiritual and religious doctrines center on one fact—treat each other as we are one. See your siblings on this earth as interconnected.

Erin Hammond and Jameelah Nuriddin

We, the people, envision a world of true liberation. Where the value of a person’s life is not placed on how much they own, but how deeply they love…

Erin Hammond and Jameelah Nuriddin

We believe respect and dignity are the birthright of every human being.

In this new America, there is nothing more Un-American than racism. We are divesting hatred, fear, and discrimination from the American Flag—holding it up in a new light that fully realizes and expresses the goals and beliefs written in the Constitution—that all people are created equal.

Erin Hammond and Jameelah Nuriddin

This is our America. We unite, let the hypocrisy fade into the past, and transcend together to finally fully actualize the words of freedom in the Constitution, in totality.

Nuriddin says, “If Black people can reclaim the n-word, we can reclaim the American flag. It doesn’t have to be a symbol of hypocrisy and oppression…this is our America too, we can guide this country to fully realize its dream of equality and freedom for all.”

“Our need to rise up and support Black lives in all facets is embarrassingly long overdue,” adds Hammond, “and I strongly believe we can change this country. It will take perseverance and standing together and getting really uncomfortable at times, but every second of every day we can make movement towards real change and create a New America. Teaming up to bring Jameelah’s vision to life was deeply fulfilling. This type of allyship is beautiful and is part of the world that Jameelah and I are fighting for.”

The photo series can be viewed on Instagram at @jameelahcreates and @erinhammondart.

To mask or to mask? That is the question millions of Americans are asking as more cities and states are implementing mask requirements in public to stem the tide of the coronavirus pandemic.

The polarization on this issue is frankly a little baffling. The science is clear on how and why universal masking is effective at limiting the spread of the coronavirus. (Viruses don’t fly out of people’s bodies by themselves—they get carried in droplets. Masks help us keep our droplets to ourselves when we talk, laugh, cough or sneeze.)

For many Americans, science itself is either seen an anathema or a government conspiracy to control the masses. And for many Americans, having the government tell us to do anything at all is seen as infringing on our individual liberties. So here we are, arguing about wearing masks as a public health measure.

Twitter user “Libby” has a satirical take on the issue, one that perfectly illustrates how absurd anti-mask arguments sound in the context of public health.

“Welcome to the Freedom Cafe!” she wrote. “We trust you to make your own choices if you want to wear a face mask. And, in the same spirit of individual liberty, we allow our staff to make their own choices about the safety procedures they prefer to follow as they prepare and serve your food.”

“We encourage employees to wash their hands after using the bathroom,” she continued, “but understand that some people may be allergic to certain soaps or may simply prefer not to wash their hands. It is not our place to tell them what to do.

We understand that you may be used to chicken that has been cooked to 165 degrees. We do have to respect that some of our cooks may have seen a meme or a YouTube video saying that 100 degrees is sufficient, and we do not want to encroach on their beliefs.”

“Some of our cooks may prefer to use the same utensils for multiple ingredients, including ingredients some customers are allergic to. That is a cook’s right to do so,” she added.

“Some servers may wish to touch your food as they serve it. There is no reason that a healthy person with clean hands can’t touch your food. We will take their word for it that they are healthy and clean.”

“Water temperature and detergent are highly personal choices, and we allow our dishwashing team to decide how they’d prefer to wash the silverware you will put in your mouth.

Some of you may get sick, but almost everyone survives food poisoning. We think you’ll agree that it’s a small price to pay for the sweet freedom of no one ever being told what to do – and especially not for the silly reason of keeping strangers healthy.”

And there you have it.

Does anyone argue with public health departments establishing requirements for food handling and safety? No. Does anyone complain that such requirements are an infringement on individual liberties? No. Why? Because we all agree that keeping people healthy in public places is super important and that having such requirements in place, no matter what people’s personal preferences or beliefs or comfort levels are, is a good idea.

We’re not used to thinking of public health as something we all have to actively participate in, but that’s absolutely the way we must think of it during a pandemic. Since we’re experiencing a reality we’ve never experienced in our lifetime, we’re going to have to expect some changes we’ve never experienced before as well.

But it’s not even like the idea of wearing a mask to protect others is a new idea. Surgeons wear masks to keep fluids away from their faces, but also to keep their own germs out of patients’ bodies. When I lived in Japan two decades ago, it was commonplace to see people wearing masks in public because they had a cold and were trying to limit their germ spread as a matter of courtesy.

Stop making mask-wearing a political thing. Stop saying that masks don’t work when there is ample evidence now that they do. Masks are used to limit the spread of the virus is practically every country, and our widespread resistance to it in the name of “freedom” has very real consequences.

No one actually likes wearing a mask. It sucks for all of us. But it’s the right thing to do because universal masking is only effective if we all actually do it. So toughen up, America. Let’s use the freedom we have to do the hard, right thing and show the world we’re not as selfish and uninformed as we seem.