I’ll be honest, I’ve been struggling to find a way to write about clothes since last week’s election. This blog is about men’s style, not politics, but it’s hard not to comment on what’s been a very difficult year.
To put it out there, my own politics lean left-of-center, but this year’s election wasn’t about traditional liberal versus conservative politics (which I’m otherwise fine with). Living in a democracy means having to be comfortable with a little give-and-take when it comes to ideas about government. That can include sensitive issues such as gun rights, environmental policies, trade, etc. We don’t necessarily vote on those issues, but we vote for people who best represent our preferences. Sometimes the majority votes our way; sometimes they don’t.
This year’s election wasn’t about liberals versus conservatives. It was about normal politics versus something radical. For all Hillary Clinton’s faults, of which she had many, Donald Trump was right about one thing: she represented normal politics and he didn’t.
At the most extreme end, Trump’s ascendency has given power to a radical right-wing faction. The “alt-right,” as I’m sure you’ve read the term. People who think things such as multiculturalism, immigration, and political correctness are destroying “Western civilization.” They’re basically Oswald Spengler types mixed with white nationalism and proto-fascism. I don’t think much has to be said about the group. They just need to be pushed back to the political fringe, where they belong.
But it’s not them that I worry about; it’s everyone else. Trump’s election shows that a good portion of the American electorate can be defined in one of two ways. One group isn’t about white nationalism, but they hold similar prejudicial views, just in subtler forms. They believe things such as “Islam is a violent religion” or “all Mexican illegal immigrants are violent criminals.” It’s those kind of sentiments Trump played to, and even stoked.
The other group may or may not share any of the same prejudicial views, but they don’t seem terribly bothered by them either. That includes people such as white working class voters in the Rust Belt, who voted for economic self-interest despite Trump’s rhetoric. At this point, they’ll say they’re not racist or sexist or xenophobic – and that may be true – but when it comes to the effective power of voting, does it make a difference? Radical right movements rarely rise on the power of their message alone; they link them to broader social issues such as immigration and jobs. See the the history of the radical right in Europe or Latin America for dozens of examples.
To reiterate, this post isn’t about bashing conservatives. I don’t think Christian conservatives, Constitutionalists, or even run-of-the-mill GOP voters got a candidate that best represents them (and I wish they did). Trump won the Republication nomination because the GOP primary was unusually factionalized – the centrist vote was split between three candidates and Trump got 100% of the crazies. Once he won the primary, however, Republicans begrudgingly coalesced.
Now that Trump won, two things are thrown into stark relief. One is that liberalism isn’t that strong in America. And I’m not talking about the American left form of liberalism, but the basic ideas of equality, fairness, and inclusion on which democracy was built. The kind of stuff President Reagan referenced when he gave his famous “Vision for America” address:
You can see them—these Washington visitors—looking for the famous as they walk through congressional hallways; see them as they return silent and tightlipped to tour buses that brought them for a walk through rows of white crosses in Arlington Cemetery; you can see them as they look up at a towering statue of Jefferson or out from the top of the Washington Monument; or as they read the words inscribed at the Lincoln Memorial. “Let us bind up the nation’s wounds.”
These visitors to that city on the Potomac do not come as white or black, red or yellow; they are not Jews or Christians; conservatives or liberals; or Democrats or Republicans. They are Americans awed by what has gone before, proud of what for them is still… a shining city on a hill.
That kind of liberalism – that sense of inclusion – now seems weaker than ever. Trump’s rhetoric isn’t just vulgar; it rips at the very heart of what America, a shining example of liberal democracy, is all about.
The other thing we now see is that America has the monumental task of trying to talk constructively about difficult issues around race, sexuality, gender, and religion. That takes a lot of effort on both sides – one refraining from insults and dismissals, the other a genuine effort to understand our shared humanity.
In light of all that, talking about clothes seems like the least important thing right now. However, since this is a menswear blog, I’ll end with this: although writing about men’s clothes feels odd, putting on a familiar and favorite coat has never felt more comforting. I’m reminded of this quote from Tom Ford when he was interviewed at The Talks: “When I feel depressed and I have a bad day, or something terrible has happened, I go through a very precise ritual in getting dressed in the morning. In a sense, it is armor; I’m building up a layer. If everything in my material world is in order, I will be able to get through it.”
I don’t want to grant too much power to clothing. My point only is that, when things are tough, it’s good to return to things that uplift you. That may be music or art or exercise. Whatever the larger, more important issue, it’s hard to make positive change when you’re anxious or angry. And we need a lot of positive change.
So, in that spirit, here are some menswear photos I like. I hope they distract you enough from political news to make you feel better, but not distract you from the political process. Consider volunteering time and donating money to organizations you believe in; subscribe to newspapers that do the important work of investigative journalism; and find smart political analysts (I like BookForum’s blog for left-leaning articles and Ross Douthat for his conservative takes). Engage family, friends, and neighbors about politics and find ways to talk respectfully about differences. Find common ground. We at Put This On are also donating $10 to the ACLU for every person who puts a photo of themselves wearing a safety pin on Instagram and tagging the photo #safePTO. The fundraiser is capped at $2,500, but you can also donate to the ACLU directly here.
Anyway, I’ll be back Thursday with a regular menswear post, but it was hard to talk about patch pockets and cool pants with everything that’s going on.
