Appeared in The New Republic on December 1, 2011

From the Bible to Shakespeare, the Romans to the Amish, beards have held cultural gravitas throughout history. However, there is also a darker side to the history of beards: the beard of shame, worn during a fall from grace. Like the recent shame mustache of disgraced Anthony Weiner (which, coincidentally, prevents the former representative from New York from going within 100 yards of elementary schools), there is a long tradition of men who have found that, in moments of despair, the beard succeeds where words have failed.