Before 2020, I never gave much thought to noses.  Noses were just a facial feature, a commonplace shared characteristic with varying size and shape.  But in the time of a global pandemic, a time where many simple things have become ardently political, a nose has a much greater significance.  

A nose protruding from the top of a mask, exhaling air into the surroundings, is essentially a blatant act of defiance and rebellion.  Rebellion against rules meant to help a community of people protect each other.  Rebellion against respect, kindness, and civic duty.

Now, everytime I see a nose --- or worse, an entire face --- in a public place, a small kernel of anger and frustration grows inside me.  The very people who refuse to take measures to fight the pandemic are often the same who lament that nothing is “back to normal.”  The same who condemn rebellion when it comes to real issues of racial injustice, but then organize a siege on Washington, D.C. because their candidate lost an election.  The same who sometimes fly Confederate flags, which are emblems of a past rebellion that cost an estimated 620,000 American lives, a death toll which the coronavirus is quickly approaching.

Hypocrisy is a strange and irritating phenomenon, based in selfish emotions instead of logical thinking.  And it is only worsened by leaders who fan the flames with incendiary and misinformed comments.  Words from people in power matter, especially in times where their guidance is needed. 

Wearing a mask over a mouth and nose is mostly meant to protect others, not the individual.  It’s a selfless act in a selfish world, an act that shows you’re willing to sacrifice a little bit of comfort for public safety.  As a teenager, a member of an age group often described as selfish, I wear a mask for about ten hours a day (at work, at school, etc.) for this very reason.  Yet I see adults --- functioning members of society with voting rights and elected representatives --- who refuse to wear a mask in a grocery store for five minutes.  Yes, it can be uncomfortably warm and humid inside a mask.  But in my mind, it’s entirely worth it.  

Sadly, selflessness seems to be an idea that many people fail to understand in today’s world.  I am reminded of this by each pair of strangers’ nostrils I see.  Hopefully, someday, the pandemic will subside and mask wearing will no longer be necessary.