To Wear A Mask, or Not? That is the Question.

"A mask tells us more than a face."

--Oscar Wilde

The debate over whether we all should wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic has come to a boil the past several weeks. There were confusing guidelines at the outset back in March, partly due to a shortage of protective equipment and fear that the general public would hoard precious masks needed by hospital personnel treating COVID patients. Then in April the Centers for Disease Control updated guidelines encouraging us to wear masks or facial coverings as an additional protection.

Halloween 1963, John-John, Caroline and President Kennedy,
why not look at masking up through a different lens?

My own attitude towards wearing a mask has evolved over time. Initially I thought it was an inconvenience I didn’t want to have to deal with. Besides, wasn’t keeping a 6-foot distance from people easy enough to maintain? I soon learned distancing in the grocery store while searching for a ripe melon or squeezing the Charmin was easier said than done. 

I also found it irritating. Whenever I wore glasses as soon as I donned a mask my lenses would fog. I couldn’t see where in the heck I was going.

Digging deeper into my attitudes, I’ve realized like many of us I have a strong, independent streak. That’s how we rugged Americans are accustomed to thinking of our country—the land of the free and the home of the brave.  I didn’t want anyone to tell me what to do or not to do.

A variety of impressions have collided within me the past several days. I recalled the first time I saw other people wearing facemasks. I was on the campus of the University of Washington one year ago last summer, just starting my new job at U.W. Medicine. Almost every person I saw with a facemask was Asian.  When approaching them, I remember thinking What’s their problem? Why in the heck are they wearing masks? They must be paranoid, or weak or something. 

Broadway Musical Avenue Q: "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RovF1zsDoeM

Now I realize my negative reaction had more to do with me and my own biases. On some level my judgment carried racial overtones. That Asian people were weak, thin-skinned, not assertive. They were wimps.  You may have heard the ditty from the Broadway musical Avenue Q called “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist.” Well, that’s me too. I’m not a wimp, therefore why should I wear a mask!

These thoughts then collided with another influence in my life. Inspired by John F. Kennedy, I chose political science as my major in college. I worked in Washington, D.C. for three years in a management training fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (yes, I met a young Tony Fauci in running shorts!) and considered running for office. But my experience in D.C. didn’t match up with my idealistic underpinnings, and I returned back to the West Coast. 

Despite all the years that have passed since his death, JFK’s call to service continues to ring in my ear. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” This week it hit me. Here is one small thing, besides doing my best to social distance and wash my hands, where I can make a huge difference.  Many of us still think Well, I’m healthy so why should I need to wear a mask? The fact is none of us, including me, know whether we are carrying the virus. During my physical in early June my doctor stuck up my nose (Ouch!) a pharyngeal swab, which came back non-reactive. 

So I knew I didn’t presently have the virus, but the results couldn’t tell me whether I may have had it in the past or might get it in the future. We still don’t know whether once we’ve been exposed we develop antibodies. So my wearing a mask protects my 93-year-old friend and fellow swimmer Kay who lives in my complex and is like a grandmother to me. I still keep my distance with Kay whenever we run into each other, but also wear a mask to ensure I’m doing my best to shield her. I couldn’t live with myself if I thought I’d made her ill without even knowing it.

Yes, it’s a sacrifice, an accommodation, but isn’t it the least we can do? Ensure that we care for our loved ones and neighbors, even people we may not know in the grocery? 

Choose your color:
lime, robin's eggs blue,
passionate purple, fire
engine red & yellow!

My father served our country in WWII, put his life on the line to ensure the freedoms and democracy we enjoy in this country. People planted victory gardens, women repurposed pantyhose into war materials, civilians made all sorts of sacrifices that affected daily life.  Isn’t that the least we can do, make sacrifices now—maintaining physical distance, staying closer to home as much as possible, wearing a face covering--to ensure a better tomorrow and flatten the curve to end this scourge? Heck, even Goldman Sachs says a national mask mandate could slash infections and save the U.S. economy from taking a 5% GDP hit in lieu of additional lockdowns.

On a lighter note, I’ve chosen to make something I might not relish (mask-wearing) more of a fashion statement. I’ve accumulated enough bandanas in various colors of the rainbow to complement any attire. Why not look at masking as simply knotting a scarf around your neck, except it’s now covering your nose and mouth too. 

Sacrifice or sartorial statement, without expert leadership from the top, we are all in this together. Let’s take care of each other and ourselves. Dare I call it the patriotic thing to do?