Transgender influencer Rose Montoya’s recent topless display on the White House lawn at President Biden’s Pride celebration has sparked a conversation about modesty. Despite being banned from the White House for the display, Montoya received admiration from multiple right-wing provocateur types, including radio host Clay Travis, who tweeted, “As a first amendment and boobs guy this has me totally shook.”
Modesty is the choice to give oneself the gift of privacy in a world that likes to publicize things. On social media, we often flood our friends with personal information, boasting about our material possessions and lamenting about what has gone wrong in our world. However, publicizing what ought to be private always has consequences, and doing the reverse always pays off. Modesty teaches us that we need to be careful about what we choose to share, both on and off the screen.
The publicizing of private matters can cause people to loathe various aspects of their lives, whether it has to do with their bodies, wealth, accomplishments, or even mental health. Modesty encourages a life that is about more than others’ attention. It teaches us that the shallow interest of a broad audience means nothing, whereas the close involvement of a select few means the world. The modest person is not a product on display at the public market, and neither are the details of their life.
Modesty applies to men and women alike, and their common choice to be modest bears fruit for their counterpart. They constantly remind each other that neither are means to an end but instead precious human beings worthy of careful attention and time. They do not degrade one another, and they feel no desire to degrade themselves.
The modest interact by conversing, thinking carefully about every word, because their words are windows to the soul. They take caution not to pry or have a knee-jerk reaction to what the other reveals. They know how limited their knowledge is of the other, and they are humbled. They know that what they learn about the other is precious because it is knowledge seldom shared.
We need not lament an immodest world, though we ought to have compassion for its victims. We can enjoy material pleasures, so long as we treasure them and treat them with the dignity of privacy. What we enjoy does not need to be boasted to the world for us to enjoy it. We should direct our material endeavors toward kindness, generosity, and gratitude, knowing that they will provide us with a foundation with which to cultivate virtue.
