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You can never really tell what will become the next cultural phenomenon. Sometimes a little thing that no one gave much thought to will just sneak up, and before you realize what has happened, it has become a big deal. Here in these waning days of the Great American Experiment, the wearing of masks has emerged as the latest in a long line of defining actions that divide us into two groups: us and them.

I am going to take a few moments to discuss the history of mask-wearing, and then to speculate about who wears what and why they do. I must warn you ahead of time that this is what they call a hot-button issue, although why that is the case is beyond me, so if you are the excitable type, please just skip this and head to the sports page. You will be happier, and so will I.

For most of my life, the wearing of masks was not the divisive issue it is today. Kids wore them at Halloween because it was fun to go out and be rewarded with candy while pretending to be someone else. Surgeons and nurses wore masks in operating rooms because it was good medical practice to not breathe germs into open incisions, thus running the risk of killing those they were trying to save. Members of the Ku Klux Klan wore masks because they were terrorists and cowards. Ninjas wore masks, although I am not really sure why they did so. I know this because I raised two boys, and we watched a lot of ninja movies back in the day. Bank robbers wore masks so they could not be easily identified as they went about their illegal endeavors. Cowboys wore masks, both to keep dust out of their noses out on the lonesome trail and also because it looked pretty cool. And of course, people with respiratory issues wore masks because they were very invested in breathing.

With the exception of the Klan, none of the above mask-wearing was very controversial, and for the most part it occurred without much thought or comment. Then, as you will remember, an actual global pandemic occurred. No, really. As a result, mask-wearing graduated from being your business to being everyoneÐÔÊӽ紫ý business.

This moment in time was, I believe, when mask-wearing moved from the realm of personal choice into the murky area of political statement. The reason it did so was in most part due to the actions of our President at that time. You no doubt remember that it was his position that covid was not really such a big problem, although a million dead Americans might disagree, and he maintained this posture right up until the moment he caught the virus, at which time Air Force Two landed on the White House lawn and whisked him away to Walter Reed, where he received the best medical care our country had to offer, and he survived. If you are going to ignore reality, it is important to have a strong backup plan.

Anyway, at this point the entire country was divided into two groups. The first group was comprised of people who made the decision to follow prudent medical advice and wear a mask. I was one of these, and for the record, I neither caught covid nor died, so for me at least, mask-wearing was a successful strategy. Yes, it was uncomfortable, and a lot of trouble on top of that, but I always imagined that dying alone in an isolation unit would be more uncomfortable, so I acted like a responsible adult and did what was necessary for my own health and for yours. The other group was peopled with those who, for whatever reason, took mask-wearing personally and would not do it. Somehow during all of this, mask-wearing became equated with liberal wokeness, and refusal to wear one became associated with conservative patriotism. Yes, that is really crazy. It made about as much sense as attributing the same points of view to the wearing or not of seat belts, but there it is.

Now that we are between pandemics — yes, there will be another — the turmoil over the wearing of masks has settled some, with one important exception. This has to do with the federal agency known as ICE. Its agents have taken to wearing masks in the field as they abduct men, women, and children with the intention of deporting them, often without due process. Whenever I see pictures of these officials, I speculate as to why. Are they, like the kids at Halloween, dressing up to pretend they are superheroes? Or maybe they are having ninja fantasies. Perhaps, like Klansmen or bank robbers, they wish to remain anonymous. Or perhaps they just don’t want their mamas to know what they are doing.