U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania recently returned to the Senate after treatment for clinical depression. While his endeavor to seek help is commendable, his appearance upon his return was disgraceful.
Fetterman stepped out of his car and greeted onlookers in workout shorts, gray sneakers and a baggy Carhartt sweatshirt. His look, or lack thereof, caused an uproar on social media. And rightfully so.
Saagar Enjeti, a co-host of the podcast “Breaking Points” who has long been critical of Fetterman’s indecorous appearance, tweeted “no words.” For what else could anyone say?
But Enjeti went on to write, “People who buck proper dress code at the highest levels of public service are narcissists who think their personal comfort/‘brand’ supersedes decorum. They’re not trying to relate, they think they’re above everyone else.”
It’s true that dressing down is part of Fetterman’s brand, and it might play better in some parts of the country than in others. In The Washington Post, Kara Voght writes that the “comfort-craving Fetterman” tries to embody a kind of anti-fashion which “bolstered his everyman image during his successful run for office last year.”
It made national news when he wore a suit and tie on his first day in the Senate. As a candidate, he welcomed President Joe Biden to Pittsburgh while wearing shorts.
Coming back from treatment for depression, as Voght writes, “the question of what the senator should wear was part of a larger challenge, which is reintroducing Sen. John Fetterman to Washington — on his own terms.” And therein lies the problem — the focus on his own interests and desires and not his role as a public servant.
Sadly, however, Fetterman’s attire reflects our broader culture of unkempt appearance and dress. We act as if dress isn’t important. But what we wear isn’t simply a matter of decorum; rather, it reflects one’s heart and metaphysical…
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