This is not about paranoia or conspiracy. Liberty has value. Some people place a higher value on that than others. Even to the most extreme collectivists, a life of complete safety would be a sacrifice too great. A police/surveillance state has the potential to be very safe and might prevent a lot of death or suffering. But, at least to most Americans, that would be no way to live. Some people feel that the decision of whether to wear a mask is a personal choice, even if they would personally decide to wear one in many situations. This is completely reasonable, even if you don’t agree with it.
This also has less to do with party affiliation and more to do with collectivism vs individualism. It’s not like there’s a clear empirical answer to the question of how much one should weight personal freedom in comparison to mandates for the collective good. It’s not entirely obvious that care for the welfare of others is a more important moral principle than respect for others’ autonomy.
I’m not suggesting this because I disagree with you. I’m suggesting this because, fundamentally, this is the case for everyone with an opinion on this issue. Science actually has a limited role in this policy discussion. Science can’t actually give us an answer to what policy is best. That is a matter of personal moral interpretation and preferences. I find it frustrating that some people pretend that being against a mask mandate is merely a byproduct ignorance or scientific illiteracy. Really, it is just the result of the fact that not everyone shares your values.