The Beard: Style or Statement?

If you know me, you know I have coarse, curly, red hair.  I like to think it is a distant family trait brought over from the north of Scotland, my long lost home.  I keep it short because if I don't it comes to life - eating small children and setting up monarchies in place of peaceful republics.

As a result, my facial hair follows suit.  It's like the prince of the republic, turned to the dark side by this new despot.  As soon as it came in, it turned just as ugly but featured a different tactic for my keeping it short or shaved turned it even more squirrely - resulting in ingrown hairs, the ultimate anarchy of hairstyle.  Of course, my private Christian University paid no attention to this for years.  They forced the anarchy upon us for decades, and ironically I even became a minion of the regime - penalizing young men for letting their whiskers grow freely in peace.

Over the last decade or so a strange phenomenon has risen in popularity and become it's own style: "the 5 o'clock shadow/3 week un-trimmed growth."  I see this as a long time coming - due either to Hugh Jackman, or Brad Pitt; suddenly it's become cool and socially acceptable to sport the untrimmed style.

Still, I'm left wondering, is this a legitimate style - or more of a statement about the wearer?  In observing it, do we conclude "my, this young gentlemen has been staying up on his GQ magazine" or "that bum just rolled out of bed!"  In my humble opinion, there just is no way to be sure.

Certainly, the bearded purveyor may match his whiskers with smart style - say a suit and tie - but still we're left wondering "is this him, really, or is he just following suit?"  Similarly, we may find a clean shaven man who simply cannot sport the 'disheveled' appearance in confidence, either because of certain cultural ideas in him, or a simple physical inability to do so.

So, my friends, what can we conclude about our bearded populace?  In the end, nothing.  The beard has lost its power to insinuate much of anything anymore.  My college has since discovered this and abandoned their long held tradition of "enforced-shearing;" jobs can often be procured nowadays by the bearded and non alike.  So, let us abandon the schemes and impressions, and take our male friends and acquaintances as they are, bearded or not - just dudes, living their lives.