I'm 25, I'm a conservative libertarian, and I'm a heavily tattooed rock&roll guy. So let me chime in with my $0.02 on this one, for what it's worth to you.
Nobody anywhere on this thread is saying that we want government to mandate dress codes. It is SOCIETY that mandates them. Some things never change. My girlfriend often whines to me "why don't you ever let me pay for dinner?" And she gets upset with me when I say "because you can't, you're a lady and I'm a man", I will treat her and the situation with the appropriate respect.
As far as "un-Christian", please, don't be silly! Judging a person on how they dress for a certain situation is a fact of life. Would you hire me if I showed up for the interview in jeans and a t-shirt?
Furthermore, it is NOT restricive of freedom to think that people would have enough class to know that when I go to a rock show, I'm going to wear a black skull t-shirt, jeans, and a camo hat. But when I go to the Philharmonic, I am going to wear a suit, a tie, and nicely shined shoes. I have enough respect for myself and my fellow patrons to dress in the appropriate manner. And if you say "it's not comfortable!" well, then you need to get a pair of pants that fit properly. If you say "it costs too much to get a suit!" you can always wear dress slacks, a sports coat, and a tie, or remember that you are spending $55 a ticket, maybe you should go somewhere they do not expect you to dress a certain way (even if you aren't REQUIRED to).
Additionally, yes, wearing whatever you want whenever you want to is your right. You do have the freedom to be a classless, uncultured slob. You are free to be an idiot. I love freedom and cherish it daily. But the next time you aren't showing respect for yourself, let alone your date, or other people participating in the activity that you are underdressed for, that someone like me will be there, some "snotty, elitist, pretentious SOB", to look down on you. You may not be a bad person. And dressing in this manner won't get you shunned for life. But remember that the person mocking you could be a heavily tattooed, 25 year old guy in a punk rock band!
Get real! How does it feel to be schooled by some punk, tattooed, KID!?
"You may not be a bad person. And dressing in this manner won't get you shunned for life. But remember that the person mocking you could be a heavily tattooed, 25 year old guy in a punk rock band!"
LOL!! Hey, I never said that I don't get dressed up for certain occasions. I get dressed up for fancy restaurants (which I very rarely go to), church, and I'd get dressed up for the "Opera" (IF I'd ever even WANT to go see one...which I highly doubt). My children were required to get "dressed up" for these things as well. My only issue is with people who judge others based on what they are wearing, or for that matter, what they "look" like. In my opinion, it is ignorant, rude, and for those who are Christians, it is not in keeping with the Christian values I was taught.
I would think that a "heavily tattooed, 25 year old guy in a punk rock band", would understand more than most about how it feels to be judged by how you look. You seem like a real nice guy and it would be a real shame for someone to judge you by how you look, or what music you prefer to perform. Our youngest son is 23 years old and he likes tatoos. He has three of them. He is also a delightful, young man, handsome, well-groomed, good head on his shoulders, hard worker, compassionate, kind, loving, honest as the day is long...yata yata. And you know what? He has been treated like trash by SOME people who take one look at his tattoo and make judgements about him based only on that.
I also remember people rudely pointing out and "judging" a man in our hometown when I was a little girl. He showed up in church every Sunday in his tattered old pants, and worn out boots. He never said much, but would nod his head to the ladies, shake the preacher's hand, and always sit in the back pew. Perhaps he didn't think he was "good enough" to sit with the rest of us and that always made me feel sad. I like to think that God wasn't up in the pulpit with the preacher, but was sitting beside the old man in the back pew. :)