David Marcus: COVID and America – masks became symbols during the pandemic. Time to take them off and ask why

This is a problem. Tools are easily discarded, when the job is done you put away the hammer or saw without a second thought. Not so with symbols. Symbols become a part of us, a part of our identity that mingles with our self-worth.  Why are so many Americans still donning face muzzles well past their sell-by date? Obviously, it is not entirely for medical reasons, it’s often because the cloth coverings have become as essential part of who they are.