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Wearing face masks on public transport should be non-negotiable. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

I am a Southerner who has been back in Dunedin for the past 13 years, after spending 25 years overseas in the North Island.

On arriving back, I soon realised the weather was a constant hot topic of conversation. What has puzzled me, however, are people’s short memories from one year to the next. I constantly hear phrases like "the winter is really long this year" or "spring is unusually cold", and so on. I’m forever responding "but it was like this last year", and the year before.

As a historian I’m fascinated by perceptions of time and the variability in people’s ability to remember back.

For me the past and present are continuous realities, but seemingly not for everyone.

And so it seems to be the case for the circumstances in which we currently find ourselves. I’m interested to note people now tend to talk about Covid-19 in the past tense. The commonly expressed sentiment is that it was something that happened back in March-May, and now it is gone again.

Perhaps this is particularly so for those of us who have had relatively little direct experience, or perhaps it is a factor of our geography — it is something far away, affecting other people.

But unfortunately that is not the case. Those who have recently returned from overseas will tell us that.

Those who have family or friends in other parts of the world will tell us that. Those who have suffered tragic loss or ill health within our borders will tell us that.

This thing is here now, it is here for the unforeseeable future, it is only a plane flight or a personal contact away, and so it should remain our constant concern.

I’m in this for the long haul (excuse the travel pun for those like me having "travel withdrawal"), and I have adopted the mindset that I still need to take this seriously. For that general reason I continue to wear a mask when on public transport or other contexts where it is prudent.

I know that it is no longer mandatory, but for me that is not the point. I think that there are bigger issues at stake. I am bothered that our collective inability to continue the practice reveals a worrying level of self-centredness and a generally short-sighted view of reality.

I wear a mask for safety reasons. In my mind that is a no-brainer, and it follows accepted and now very well-known public health advice. On a bus or plane, I’m not thinking primarily of my own health but that of others. I want to continue using public transport, so this is one of the "non-negotiables" that goes with that. But there are personal benefits too. I’m slightly immune compromised and usually pick up a good brace of colds each year. This year — none! Speaks for itself really.

I also wear a mask to embed a habit. A family member in the UK recently told us that when she goes out without her mask on she feels exposed. For her it is now the norm. Here, I’m the one who feels exposed as the only person sitting on a bus with a mask on. Travellers in Southeast Asia over the last decade or so will acknowledge that many communities have long adopted mask wearing as a public habit. Like many I went from "other people wear masks", to "who me?" to "OK, I better try this" to now feeling like it is natural. We have made it fun too. I have my work mask, my "books are great" mask, my "Morrison tartan"’ mask, and a reversible mask with Christmas images all ready for the festive season.

Habits take time and deliberation, but are surely worth the effort for the common good.

And as someone who has a somewhat global view on all this, I wear my mask out of solidarity, as a member of the human race. I wear a mask to honour those communities continuing to struggle with horrendous loss and difficulties. I wear a mask as a political statement, contrary to a certain soon-to-be-past world leader, to say that peoples’ lives matter. I wear a mask to acknowledge the losses, pain, suffering and ongoing challenges within our own community of Aotearoa New Zealand.

I wish mask wearing was still mandatory at Level 1, because it seems that only then will people do the right thing. While as a society we are good at complying with rules, sadly that indicates to me that we have not really "got it" in terms of the current pandemic and its long-term trajectory among us. Motivation should come from self-understanding, not external compulsion. So, I will continue to wear my mask as appropriate, in the hope that this will prompt others to do likewise.

 - Hugh Morrison is an associate professor in the University of Otago College of Education, and writes on the history of religion and of childhood/youth.