It is also the region where women remain the farthest behind by any objective yardstick. There the candidates stood β with their squared-off, box-car suits, boring ties and overbearing flag-lapel pins. They looked exactly alike, anonymous, interchangeable and fashion-challenged.
I suppose they were trying to convey a sense of authority and patriotism, but as someone who wears a tie as infrequently as possible, I saw only a will to conformity, a lack of imagination, an aesthetic discomfort and a reluctance to risk anything β odd qualities for a party that takes pride in its values of individualism and entrepreneurship.
Zakaria worries that the United States is closing in on itself, becoming less open to the rest of the world and to modernity itself. That was certainly the sartorial message of the photo I was looking at: men in chadors. A successful small businessman I know once told me that he has to check his schedule every evening to know how to dress the following day.
If he is meeting with clients in the financial world, he wears a suit and tie so they will think he is a serious person. Does anyone except a Sunbelt CEO or presidential contender doubt where the future lies? The last significant one probably occurred in the early 19th century, and was signaled by John Quincy Adams arriving at his inauguration in trousers rather than knee breeches.
Women in chadors β rendered virtually invisible β did not make the rules, and for the most part are helpless to change them. Thanks for the male point of view of male and maleness in America, especially of those in the photo who are veying for a position of much power. So, I started thinking about all of the great people in history who have changed the world for the better and how they dressedβI am in no mood to comtemplate those who have changed it for the worse because I just looked at that photo again.
