Naked People don’t influence society

Mark Twain said,”Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Nothing can be more true. There is something known as halo effect. When we meet any person for the first time we form an impression about the person which is known as first impression. That is also true for the person whom we meet. He too forms an impression and the truth is that first impressions are very difficult to shake off.

Just think of Barrack Obama, Angela Merkel, David Cameron, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Pope Francis, Manmohan Singh, Nawaz Sharif or Xi Jinping and you associate a everyone with a certain dress. They are always nattily dressed either in a business suit or in their national dress. Look at the religious leaders and they too have their own dressing style. Had they been shabbily dressed (being naked is not a possibility) they would surely not be world leaders whatever quality had they possessed.

Actually it is the first impression that matters. In every election you will find that opponents trying to find out mistakes from the past of the opponent. You will always the photographs the past are always of either smoking hash,stupidly dressed. They are trying to show that the man you are seeing now is in reality someone not up to the mark. A if nobody has the right to correct his or her  mistakes. Look at Sarah Palin, people were dished out all the titbits when she was a teenager, which should be of no consequence now.

There are instances when countries have suffered the effect of first impression.Look at India, it was considered a country of snake charmers even after launching first satellite in the space. The impression was so hard to shake that in James Bod movie Octopussy India was shown as a country where snake charmers move around on the roads with flame throwers galore, something we Indians rarely see. Making of super computers launching space crafts or a the biggest force of knowledge workers (engineers) had a very slow impact in changing the perception.

People will say that it is more important that what you have inside you then what you show. Reality is people will only come to know about your inside when they find you presentable. Just think you go inside a Mercedes / BMW showroom. and first person comes to meet you in a boxer shorts and crumpled T – shirt. I am sure before reciprocate his good morning you looking for the exit door. Better try to get into a business meet fully prepared with power point presentations in your pajamas. Outcome of the meeting is forgone conclusion, you are thrown out before you can wish the first person. Imagine a corporate honcho trying to address a shareholders meet dressed in pajamas. Okay forget that think about your classes and the lecturer funnily attired. That is dream I had of my Geography teacher in school, and his being thrown away from the school gates. My ill luck, he was nattily dressed.

As for me one will find me in formals while I am at work otherwise I am comfortable in jeans and T-shirt. Being naked is not  a possibility with a college going son, working wife (who is always nattily dressed) and my seventy five year old father around. Even when staying at hotels while on business tours never thought of staying naked perhaps in the fear that the mirror would shock me.

                                                                         

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