August 27, 2020

William Biersach ’22

Be selfish; wear a mask. Refusing to wear a mask is misguided. 

Why do many people, then, choose to sacrifice both their own interest and the collective interest? We have forgotten that communities are designed for our individual benefit. Specifically, by embracing masks as a Durham Academy community, we can act selfishly and collectively, simultaneously.

North Carolina has mandated the use of masks in public. However, many individuals do not observe this mandate. According to a July New York Times article that detailed a survey of 250,000 participants, roughly 50-70% of people wear masks in public in the triangle area. The 50% to 30% of people who don’t wear masks when interacting with others in public are not only endangering their neighbors; they’re endangering themselves. The danger present to these non-mask-wearers extends beyond the threat of infecting themselves or a neighbor. These people are in danger of losing the good grace of the community that nurtures them. The community is designed to protect its members, but when some members don’t comply, they not only compromise the entire group’s health, but jettison their claim to the common welfare.

The aim of all communities is to provide an advantage to the individual member. Community involvement leverages collective coordination to aim at a good we cannot provide ourselves. To facilitate coordination, we divest certain individual liberties. For example, we abandon the liberty not to wear a mask to participate in the state community and the Durham Academy community. However, we should not feel burdened to relinquish our right not to wear a mask. Instead, we ought to praise the institutions like Durham Academy that allow us to live together safely and harmoniously.

Instead of pejoratively viewing mask rules as burdensome, we can see them as a manifestation of our communities’ ability to promote the common welfare. Without communities, we can’t organize effectively. Without organization, we can’t protect ourselves from the virus. Why don’t we praise mask-wearing rules since they protect our personal interests? 

Well, many individuals feel that their freedom is restricted by having to wear a mask. Yet, for masks to be effective, everyone must wear one in any close interaction outside of their home. Since the mask policy clearly protects everyone’s personal interests by protecting everyone’s health, we should not think twice in sacrificing such a minor liberty. To wear a mask is both selfish and selfless. Noncompliance with mask policies hurts every single individual.

This can be seen in different instances in our daily lives, from paying taxes to getting a flu shot. In a way, these simple things can be criticized as being a sacrifice to our smaller freedoms. However, despite not wanting to give money away, those taxes help pay for public education, infrastructural improvements, transportation, social security, and the military. Getting a vaccination is the same concept – a flu shot can hurt, but we don’t want to get the flu ourselves and in order to ensure that, not only do we have to get one, but everyone does. We don’t think twice about these smaller things because, in the general picture, they help both ourselves and the general public. The same goes for wearing a mask.

If national and regional trends at all resemble our attitude toward masks as the Durham Academy student body, then we will have failed ourselves and the larger community. Instead, we ought to value the Durham Academy mask policy for the protection it provides all students and faculty. If we do our part to promote the common welfare by wearing masks at all times outside of our homes, we can greatly reduce the rate of infection, and have a wonderful school year.

Wearing a mask is irrefutably in the best interest of every individual because everyone is protected if everyone wears a mask. In this case, collective organization is in everyone’s best interest. The selfish choice—the one that benefits the agent most—also promotes the collective welfare of the entire community.

Most importantly, it is imperative that we, the student body, wear masks outside of school. At school, mask rules will undoubtedly be stringent. However, wearing a mask outside of school matters just as much in protecting ourselves and our entire community. 

With your own best interest in mind, embrace the value of wearing a mask not only at school, but in any non-socially-distanced interaction. Understand that what benefits you also benefits everyone else. 

Be more selfish. Protect everyone. Everyone means you too.

Works Cited

Katz, Josh, et al. “A Detailed Map of Who Is Wearing Masks in the U.S.” The New York Times, New York Times, 17 July 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/17/upshot/coronavirus-face-mask-map.html. Accessed 17 Aug. 2020.