Criticism of my simple shirt runs counter to American value systems

JASON EVANS

May 02, 2008 at 1:04PM AKST

For Alaska Newspapers

Recently, a former Bering Straits resident who now lives in Anchorage working for one our organizations visited my office and criticized my business partner and me for the simple way that we dress.

That person indicated that we should probably consider more expensive clothing, such as Nordstrom shirts. We had just returned from a trip out to St. Lawrence Island.

At first, I felt a little insulted by the comment, but I thought carefully about what had been said to me. There was no cultural gap, since the person who had made the comment was also Alaska Native.

But I realized that our people are also developing groups of haves and have-nots. This caused me to think carefully about the history of inequality and how we deal with it.

In the Middle Ages, it was common custom for the lords to wear furs and jewelry to show their superiority over the poor. This signified rank and wealth, and it was common custom throughout Europe.

These people believed that they were better by birth, and common people deserved to be treated little better than animals. In fact, lords often made common people kiss their rings to acknowledge their wealth.

The Pilgrims left Europe and came to the New World partially because they disagreed with this custom. In the early colonies, displays of wealth were frowned on, because all people were considered equal before God. This belief helped shape the value system of our country and is clearly stated in our Declaration of Independence: "All men are created equal."

However, in the past several decades we have seen a trend in the United States where some people will display their wealth by wearing fur coats and drinking expensive wine and champagne. Economists have a name for this: conspicuous consumption.

The idea is that that some people will display their wealth to show how much better off they are than others, especially during times of hardship.

Although I have been blessed with success, I do not believe the appropriate way of showing my gratitude is by wearing expensive clothing. I understand the criticisms of my colleague, but I am not going to change the way I dress. I believe that nothing can be gained by emphasizing the developing inequality among Alaska Natives, and that conspicuous displays of wealth have no place in our communities.

Therefore, I will continue wearing my simple shirts, and others will just have to deal with it. It will by my way of saying "we are all equals."

> Jason Evans is president/owner of Financial Alaska, a professional business-consulting firm based in Anchorage. He can be reached at jevans@financialalaska.com