Blog 2723 – 04.13.2023

Splitting Hairs

I came of age in a narrow fundamentalist cult that had a lot to say about hair. I remember what a battle it was especially with my mom when I gave up hair oil in middle school preferring to have my hair fall on my forehead. The Beatles were popular and the Elvis slicked-back hair style for boys was losing out to the dry and longer look. One of my friends whose dad was a police detective combed his hair back with alcohol each morning just before leaving for school to maintain the illusion for his parents. I guess his dad was not such a great detective.

My church taught “does not nature itself tell you it is a shame for men to have long hair” and “long hair is a woman’s glory.” Nature has little to say about shame, glory, or hair length but leaves those three subjects entirely up to us. Hair if left uncut will grow as will shame if we let other narrow-minded people rob us of our true glory the ability to think for ourselves.

The there is an Old Testament Bible story about a man whose power came from his long hair. He let a girlfriend cut his hair off robbing him of his power. Then his enemies subdued him, put out his eyes, and made him the object of their mockery and derision. In the end of the story his hair grew back and his strength returned and he pulled a temple down on his enemies and himself to avenge the lost of his eyes. The Old Testament is full of eye for an eye stories with lots of blood sacrifices to atone for the sins of men.

Even the New Testament begins with four versions of the Good News or Gospel about God’s son bleeding and dying supposedly in our stead. Most of the artist portrayals of Jesus have him wearing his hair long. It is a big controversy in religious groups like the one I left many years ago. But the short and long of it is that the way you wear your hair and what you believe (think) is up to you.

Your friend and fellow traveler.

David White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z0flJUCHjXGba8IPDyOt2f6IF3XR5ntn/view?usp=drivesdk

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