A Knight Needs a Helmet
The Hat Makes a Man
There is a Bugs Bunny cartoon called “Bugs’ Bonnets” based on the premise that whenever a man dons a certain hat, it changes his demeanor and he assumes the role that the hat represents. The cartoon begins showing that when Elmer Fudd is given a hunter’s hat, the mild-mannered Elmer immediately exhibits the aggressive characteristics of a hunter. He begins to chase his prey, Bugs Bunny. Then, an army helmet happens to fall upon the head of Bugs, and Bugs transforms his demeanor into that of an army drill sergeant, giving him the assertiveness to turn the tables on Elmer and begin to issue him commands. Next, on officer’s crush cap makes Elmer into General MacArthur, who now outranks Sargeant Bugs. The hats continue to change and the roles likewise shift.
Police hat? Elmer becomes a stereotypical beat cop.
Colonial wig with white, curly locks? Bugs becomes the judge over Elmer.
And so on. You can search & view partial videos of the cartoon on YouTube, linked below.
Give a man a hat, and he becomes a role. I saw this with my own son. He loved to wear a baker’s hat when he was learning to bake. He wore a train engineer’s hat when playing with trains. Give a boy a cowboy hat, and he’ll dream of riding a horse and shooting the bad guys. It wasn’t simply a fashion statement — it was an assumption of identity.
Modern skeptics dismiss this as simply “larping” (Live Action Role Play), as if to say, “Okay, so you pretend to be knights, like those adult boys down at the Renaissance Fair who still live with their parents and haven’t had a date in 10 years.”
Yet this overlooks some powerful examples of the opposite — all the times when boys put aside their backward baseball cap and begin to wear, with dignity, the hat that signifies their duties as man, brother, husband, father and grandfather — these are powerful, transformative moments.
It is no coincidence that the crown, the symbol of authority, rests upon the “crown” of the head, the home of the mind, protector of the intellect and the developer of the identity. That head is the source of the real “you” and the source of your entire family. Treat it accordingly.
We discussed symbolism a lot during my recent spiritual retreat. A lot more can be said about the topic of the symbolism of hats and heads, but I am keeping my focus here practical tips for family men, rather than esoteric wanderings.
In a previous article (“The Full Armor of God”), I discussed that a man must put on “the Helmet of Salvation.”
Us men also wear many other hats, including the hats of our careers, the hats of our volunteer duties and charitable works, the hats of our hobbies and interests, and the hats of being a comforter and caregiver to our family members.
I leave you with this advice — wherever you are struggling or seeking to develop in an area in your domestic church, consider getting a new hat and wearing it to get in character.
For me, I’m going to buy one of those green eyeshade visors that accountants wear. This is because budgets, household expenses, and business investments have been on my list of things to improve. I also want to send a message to my wife that I’m taking things seriously. She might laugh, at first, but that’s okay. It will sink in.
For you, what hat might help you with areas of your life?
Maybe you want to be more adventurous. Try an explorer’s hat, pith helmet, or German alpine hat, and take your wife on trail walks or your son on camping trips.
Want to learn ballroom dancing with your wife? Buy a top hat. If she doesn’t laugh but frowns or scowls instead, that’s okay. You simply have to give more time to let the joke mature. She’ll laugh. And then she’ll embrace it.
Not sure what your wife wants out of you? Go hat shopping with her, and let her pick out the hat. The hat she selects is the role she wants to see you in.
Get out there and lead your family, men. Put on a drivers hat and let your family know you are ready to go for a drive.
Non nobis, brothers.
References:
Another update:
I went hat-shopping with my wife.
She picked out for me a floppy, wide bucket hat.
That means she wants me to be protective and practical yet flexible and gentle. 🤣
Update on this — the green accountant’s visor was a big success! She saw it as a sign I was taking her concerns seriously.