I’m no pundit. Far from it.

To be totally honest, I didn’t even know what a “pundit” was until about a year and a half ago. Up until then I assumed it was some sort of flourishing design a baker would adorn a cake with.

That aside, I’m going to address a pretty pundential topic right now: Jack Layton.

There are a lot of things to be said about this man – things that pundits and bakers alike have put into words that I can’t possibly match.

I mean, the outpouring of public grief following his passing last month was staggering.

Canadians across the nation, of various political bents, attended wakes in his honour and wept at the broadcast of his funeral.

It was a showing of feeling that’s hard to imagine any other public figure inciting, particularly any other politician.

He was a statesman and a gentleman. A pillar of integrity in an arena where that quality is scant. He motivated a generation of young people to become involved with and become passionate about politics. That’s no small feat.

During the recent federal election, graphics representing his facial characteristics were designed and displayed on signs and Facebook profile pictures country-wide, in a fashion akin to the passionate Americans.

Jack Layton’s moustache became a symbol. A symbol for change.

But, Jack Layton was a bald man.

Baldness is a feature which, as any bald man will tell you, is not easily reconciled with – no matter how great the accompanying moustache.

Jack became a hero to many in a world where the bald man is the villain.

Think Lex Luthor to that other great Canadian hero, Superman. Think Ernst Blofeld to James Bond. Think the Black Spy to the White Spy in Spy vs. Spy (yes, the Black Spy was lacking under that wide-brimmed cap).

Bald men, in our society, have always had to work a little bit harder for our esteem.

Picard was clearly the better captain, but there will always be the stubborn faction that contest that fact (this is not the forum to debate the validity of the claim that Shatner wears a rug, nor the persistent Internet rumour that so does Harper).

Jack Layton was a true underdog. Though it’s fact that roughly 70 per cent of men will experience hair loss in their lifetime, the image-centric stew that we simmer in is inescapably stocked with hirsute bouillon.

That such a glaringly bald figure could claim a position of that much respect and admiration is a testament not only to his determination, ideals and charisma, but also to our recognition, as a country, of the need for change.

Maybe you don’t realize it, Canada, but you’ve taken a huge step in a good direction. A direction toward a better, sparser tomorrow.

We need more men like Jack Layton. Men who are willing to bare everything for the greater good.

I’m no pundit. I’m not a baker either. But I saw a shining beacon in the doldrums, and I took heed. Jack Layton wasn’t a great man because he was bald. He was just a great man. That he was recognized for his greatness, despite being bald, is a truly beautiful thing.

Citizens of Canada, I mean this in the best possible way: right now, you’re all a little bald to me.

John Scott is the founder of the League of Nations, inventor of the glory hole and claimant of the bounty on Santa Claus’s head.

Published in Volume 66, Number 2 of The Uniter (September 8, 2011)