Not quite as simple as that...
Although I do hope you and others will make responsible choices... both in your uses of personal PPE... and in being deliberate in exercising influence in qualifying and selecting only persons of integrity as leaders.
Before you launch on that one, Trump as President... has done exactly what he promised voters he would?
The guy before Trump... from the same team hoping to turn him out in November... lied his ass off, saying exactly and only what he was sure people wanted to hear, just to get elected ? Wasn't Trump bypassing the slippery slope... and just diving into the bog headfirst... using the FBI (among others) to spy on his political opponents ? Anyway...
Your own choice and use of PPE... assuming a bias toward being responsible... has a limited span of influence. Your choice impacts you directly, and has obvious influence on those nearby, and those you come home to. But, you don't have the Secret Service pre-qualifying your interactions... and you have no concern at all that your choices, perhaps beyond a bit of moral posturing, have any other impact ? You might go to the grocery... without thinking you'll likely be featured in the news because of it ? Your choice isn't intrinsically about image and communication... rather than protecting your person with the equipment ?
Start by googling "power and clothing choices"... and you get plenty of things about clothing and its social implications: How the power suit lost its power. But go a step beyond the linear in the relationship between status and the particular freak flag you fly:
What you wear changes the way you think
Research Shows That the Clothes You Wear Actually Change the Way You Perform
And, while you're thinking in that vein:
Biden will, Trump won't: Politicians face coronavirus mask challenge
Note what the article misses in the first paragraph... that neither Biden nor Trump are reasonably considered "members of the public" ? Theirs is also a more deliberate and calculated choice. Obviously, in their choices... there's potentially more than a small element that's purely about political pandering... or making a statement in the opposite ? Biden, of course, is anxious to be whatever you want him to be... as he thinks that's what will win him votes ? And, all he cares about is the politics... since his image, now, has no real influence on others perceptions about anything that matters, other than that election related ?
Even ignoring the obvious and its implications in the overt pandering, still room for humor, too, of course:
Biden Cuts Hole In Mask So He Can Still Sniff People's Hair
Modify the search effort as "national power and leaders clothing choices"... and get:
The Power of Fashion: Decoding World Leaders’ Sartorial Choices
Kim Jong Un Always Wears the Same Suit — This Is What It Means
There may be a message behind the new Chinese ambassador's clothing choices
And, only then, after considering those above...
Vice President Mike Pence tours Mayo Clinic without coronavirus mask even though he was told to wear one ?
So... I guess that no stinking virus from China... is going to change the way the Trump Administration thinks, or performs... or engages with the public through the media... and its not going to make them "do what they're told"... by China's American political allies and associated boot lickers ?
As you might guess... Yeah. I'm OK with that. |
