In 1918, collective will was harnessed with greater ease than it was in 2020 because the Spanish flu had erupted in the midst of World War I. Members of the public supported ordinances that limited their freedoms because these rules were seen as a way to protect American troops abroad. One announcement from the Red Cross explicitly stated, “The man or woman or child who will not wear a mask now is a dangerous slacker.” The governor of California described mask-wearing as the “patriotic duty” of every American.
