Classroom attire at Wheaton has never been a high priority for me. You could probably chalk it up to a combination of frustrations with capitalist advertising and my own confusion with about how to represent myself humbly despite coming from a powerful socio-economic class identity. Some degree of carelessness probably factors in there too.
This carelessness is unheard of among my Honduran friends. That I would have the means to dress with an ironed shirt and unstained jeans, and would yet choose to dress sloppily does not make sense to most Central Americans.
People from my neighborhood have a reputation in Tegucigalpa for being among the poorest and uneducated of all citizens in the Capital. To defy this reputation, people in my community make extra effort to dress smartly. This is particularly important for people around my age. For men, the jeans and shirt are unwrinkled, with special attention given to protecting luminescence of the shoe. Don’t think about leaving the house without hair gel. Women have a wide color range to their wardrobe, and always liberally apply accessories and make-up. Throwing on some kind of fragrance is important for both sexes.
The home may be on its last buckets of water, the tinned roof may have leaks in it, and the lack of a neighborhood sewage system causes mysterious smells to scent the streets, but no one would know this from the way one dresses to work or school. People do not want to carry their poverty with them. I wouldn’t either.
My academic advisor helped me to see that this actually connects with the fundamental value of property law. People want formality in clothing and in land, because when there is formality, there is recognition. By holding this piece of paper, not only your property is recognized by the Republic of Honduras, but also you’re right to ownership. And this right to possess that which is the fruit of one’s labors must be owned by a human being. It is a human right. Receiving title is receiving recognition that you are a human, and should be treated as such.
We are humans. Children of God. I want to learn the ways to honor that in everyone I meet.
