As we approach day 673 of "14 days to slow the spread," it seems the left is finally coming around to the position that most conservatives have held for the past two years.

Following a few weeks of tentative support for less draconian mask mandates from mainstream media outlets and a massive Freedom Convoy of truck drivers in Canada who have simply had enough, blue states like New York, California, Virginia, and Massachusetts are beginning to ditch the mask mandates.

While they should be encouraged to continue ending the mask mandates (especially in schools) along with coerced vaccinations, it would be wise to note that the inspiration is not based on some new scientific discovery that the masks don't work.

They have no intention of giving up this position permanently.  CNN's Wolf Blitzer spoke with the outlet's medical analyst, Dr. Leana Wen, where she called for the end of mask mandates in order to "preserve the ability of public health authorities to reinstitute mandates in the future" the next time a new variant is discovered.

Health officials have irreparably damaged their reputations and positions of public trust.  Just because they backpedal now does not mean that anyone should start trusting them again.  They did not suddenly become political pawns during the coronavirus situation.  The mask of "apolitical scientist" was just removed, revealing what they always were: unaccountable leftist partisans.

Their policies already have had an irreversible negative impact on children in schools, setting many kids back and even causing speech developmental problems in young kids.  Data have always shown that children are the least at risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19.  Actions by our governments and school administrators have always been politically motivated, and they cannot be let off the hook for that.

Homeschooling has jumped from 5.4 percent to 11.1 percent, and this is a very good start.  Just as we should no longer put our full faith and trust in "the experts" in government departments of health, we should also remain skeptical of public schools and their motives.  The pandemic gave parents a unique opportunity to see what schools are teaching their kids, and what they found was segregationist-style racial politics and extreme liberal sex and gender theory.

To prevent this from happening again, there are a few steps the average person can take.

First is to hold your representatives accountable.  Boot out those who supported the draconian mandates.  Put pressure on even those who have already relented to continue rolling back their overreach.

Second is to ask candidates running for office in 2022 and beyond tough questions about where they stand on issues like masking and coerced vaccination, and what they plan on doing about it.

In terms of our unelected officials, Dr. Fauci has been particularly egregious with his misleading of the public and murky background as the leader of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, with some evidence pointing to him having a direct role in the funding of gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.  Daily Wire commentator Michael Knowles recently presented a method to hold Fauci accountable: the "Michael Knowles Federal Public Health Protection Pledge" — a pledge that candidates can sign that solidifies their commitment to vote to subpoena Fauci for his role in the pandemic and vote for legislation that would reduce his salary to zero.

Any candidate who balks at the idea of holding Fauci and others accountable for the damage to this country is an unserious candidate who should be ignored in favor of another who will, whether by a pledge like described above, or other tangible results-oriented means.  Words alone are not enough.

I repeat: do not forget that these people have been revealed as tyrants for the past two years.  They leveraged their positions of trust to gain power and by all indications appear willing and eager to do it all again when it suits them next.  The media will once again help them do it.  Only "We the People" can stop it.

Linnea Lueken (llueken@heartland.org) is a research fellow at The Heartland Institute.

Image: Pixabay.