In his now legendary 2007 “New Rules” rant against the ubiquity of Crocs, a mode of rubber footwear once exclusive to children and mental patients, Bill Maher observed that “we’re a nation of slobs who won’t be happy until we can go to the mall in a diaper.”

Last night on Real Time, Bill hit another sartorially observant home run in “New Rules” and backed me up with respect to our sense of occasion (or lack thereof) and what it says about us as individuals, as a society and as a nation. In other words, we look like idiots. “This isn’t about money. It’s about pride,” he said. As a non-millionaire and owner of exactly two items of clothing with an elastic waistband (gym shorts and swim trunks) and only two pairs of sneakers (again… for the gym), I wholeheartedly agree. Thank you, Bill.

Check out my April 15, 2012 podcast on our endangered sense of occasion.

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