But, as I’ve been saying since I first noted the rapid, noticeable increase in masking in lower Manhattan and, specifically, China Town in late February 2020, just a week or two before the ‘Rona achieved escape velocity and became a pandemic, I wouldn’t mind an entirely voluntary social norm developing whereby those who are sick, “feeling under the weather,” or “coming down with a cold” wear a mask for the benefit of the rest of us.

I should emphasize that I’m not proposing a legal mandate, wearing a mask while driving alone in one’s car, or while hiking in the woods with only God and the bears for company. (Let’s use some common sense, people!)

But I think a saner, less culture-war obsessed society ought to embrace mask-wearing in public if you think you’re sick and contagious. I’m no germaphobe (okay, maybe I’m a bit of one), but if you’re hacking up a lung on an airplane or the subway or while sitting next to me in algebra class, I’d prefer you wear a mask. That wouldn’t be safety or hygiene theatre; that would just be good manners.