The heavy hand of government has always been one of those peculiar aspects of American democracy that often leave voters scratching their heads.

No better example of that is the recent decision by Gov. Kate Brown to institute a mask mandate for all students this fall.

The governor’s heart is in the right place — she wants to protect voters — but her heavy-handed dictum takes away a key component to democracy — local control.

There isn’t any doubt now that coronavirus — and its variants — are dangerous and have the capacity to kill people. The science is clear — coronavirus is a clear and present threat to Americans and the best way to eliminate the danger is through vaccinations.

In the end, though, the decision to get vaccinated is a personal one. The same line of logic is central to the current upheaval regarding the mask mandate.

The governor’s school mask decision takes away the very important element to our democracy of local control and sends — we are sure — the unintended message that the school officials we trust to educate our children are not capable of making sound, safe decisions regarding students.

A lot of local parents are up in arms over the governor’s decision and have exercised their constitutional right to let area school district officials know it. Just last week, our neighbor, Union County Sheriff Cody Bowen, issued a missive where he called the mask mandate “unconstitutional.” While this is not the space to argue the constitutionality of the governor’s decisions, Bowen’s letter to the governor represents the prevailing mood among many people.

Brown’s move is also a head-scratcher because about a month ago she lifted most coronavirus restrictions and, essentially, passed key decisions on the virus back to area school districts. That was a good, and right, move.

The counter argument is, of course, that coronavirus cases are spiking here at home and across the state. Therefore, the logic goes, to stop the spread our schools must ensure everyone wears a mask. That is indeed a good argument. It carries a lot of weight and should be evaluated carefully by officials in every county.

Yet, that decision needs to be done at the local level. The final decision should be made with input from citizens, elected and appointed officials and school district representatives. If, in the end, the prevailing consensus is to mandate masks in schools, then so be it. It will be a decision made by the people with boots on the ground who understand the unique aspects of their region.

The people caught in the middle — our students and school officials — don’t deserve to be.

The mask decision should be a local one. Period.