None of us likes wearing masks. We wear them for utility. Their primary function is to protect us and those around us.

They also have other functions.

And one of those functions is that it sends a signal. Yes, it signals a way of seeing the world. But that view isn’t generally based in partisanship or the ideologies we associate with division. It’s based in a general sense of generosity and compliance.

It is something more than I don’t want to get sick. And even I don’t want to get you sick.

The mask has been a way of saying I want us all to get through this. A way of communicating that we don’t want to leave anyone behind.

Before the pandemic, if I said that we’re all wearing masks, you would have a different association. We used to associate the idea of wearing masks metaphorically. It’s the way we communicate that we are playing a role or being someone in the community.

The metaphorical mask can be altruistic or selfish, but it is rarely any more comfortable than a cloth mask on the face.

A lot of bad faith arguments have been made about those real masks we’ve been wearing to protect our community. They tend to be based in the assumption of ego: arguing that there is no we. So we all are selfish individuals.

So the metaphorical mask of being reasonable and doing research displays the claim to an individual right not to wear a mask. Being a person who makes this kind of claim. This is the mask many of us use to obscure our own face.

While cloth masks have helped dramatically reduce the spread of the Coronavirus, it seems our metaphorical masks have presented a very real problem for our public health.