American Culture

I’ve been following the news for many years, and I’m trying to figure out the correct position on several matters. However, the more I read, the more confused I get. Let me tell you where I’m struggling and perhaps you can help me out.

Dress codes are bad.

Hardly a week goes by without a story about some student who was sent home because her clothing was in violation of school policy. Howls of indignation can be heard across the land! Most of these incidents take place in public high schools, though from time to time, a private school shows up as well.

In every story, the reporter is outraged that someone in authority would have the gall to tell anyone else how they ought to dress. This is America, where everyone should be allowed to determine for herself what is appropriate, and nobody has any business passing judgment. Whether the outfit seems provocative or offensive to others is irrelevant. Clothing styles, we are told, are extensions of individual personality and must be defended as freedom of expression. To force somebody else’s concept of appropriate attire upon another comes dangerously close to violating the constitutionally protected right to free speech. Dress codes are bad, very bad, and should be abolished immediately in any self-respecting free society.

Everybody has always lived in changing times. But we really live in changing times! The speed and quantity of information, coupled with the scope and density of communications interconnectedness, has greatly accelerated cultural change in America.

One sign of the times is that attitudes about what constitutes appropriate language have shifted noticeably. Certain anatomical references, body-emissions references, and “F-bombs” used to be considered rude, crude, and unfit for professional or public discourse. But now—not so much. It’s harder and harder to find settings where this sort of talk isn’t routine.

So what’s a Christian to do? The answer to this is less simple than many think—and also more simple than many think. I hope these observations may be of some help.