How We Want to be Seen

"He had made himself really comfortable, had unbuttoned his coat and put his feet up on the seat.  Just then a gentleman in modern dress entered the compartment.  The Jew promptly pulled himself together and took up a proper pose.  The stranger fingered through the pages of a notebook, made some calculations, reflected for a moment, and then suddenly asked the Jew: "Excuse me, when is Yom Kippur?"  "Oho!" said the Jew, and put his feet up on the seat again before answering."  -Charles Silberman

How we wish to be viewed by others determines our behavior.  Wouldn't it be better to be consistent?