At first, I thought this was yet another bogus AOC meme, but apparently she really said it.
Remember the epic idea that set this country in motion?
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
A government created to protect your rights is supposed to be ‘in charge’ of you in the same way that your gardener is ‘in charge’ of your garden. They work for you, not the other way around.
But I guess it’s easy to see how, once you’re in Washington (or Concord), with everyone being so deferential to you, you might start to believe that you are in charge. That your job description is more about husbanding taxpayers as resources, than about protecting their rights.
I’ve never been to a Congressional hearing, but I’ve been to many committee hearings in Concord, and the feeling is almost always that they’re doing you a favor, letting you come in and blow off steam, before going on to do what they were going to do anyway. And although there are many elements that contribute to this, I believe that one of the critical ones is the dress code: jackets and ties for men, and the equivalent for women.
I think it would be a significant step forward if elected officials had to dress down, instead of up; if they had to dress more like gardeners or waiters, and less like bankers or bosses. In short: if they had to dress like my substitutes and agents, instead of like my owners.
No jackets or ties or business wear. Jeans and chambray work shirts all around; or better yet, the kind of uniforms that you see at fast food places. Polo shirts and plain black pants. The kind of outfit you wouldn’t wear unless you had to. No tailoring — everything right off the rack. And plastic name tags, with first names only.
Others have suggested that elected officials should be required to wear patches with the logos of corporations that have donated significantly to their campaigns. That would address a separate issue. But to make it work, with so many patches, they’d probably have to wear aprons like the ones that employees of Home Depot use to hold all their certification patches and pins. So it would mesh with the general theme of constantly — and in a way that would be impossible for them to ignore — reminding them just who is actually in charge.
