June 21, 2009, - 11:31 am
The Real National Security: Strong & Present Fathers; Every Day Should Be Father’s Day in America
By Debbie Schlussel
Today is the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Father’s Day.
As longtime readers know, my father was the single most important influence on my life. Today is not only Father’s Day, but it would be his 72nd birthday. (Read my Father’s Day tribute to my dad from last year.)
In my view, fathers are far more important in children’s lives than any other figure, even mothers. For young boys, they serve to teach them how to be a man. Not just by words, but–far more key–by their actions, their conduct, their behavior. The ideal father teaches his son how to be a good citizen and patriot, how to be moral and decent and care about others who are less fortunate, the importance of hard work, of good ethics, of how to treat women, and how to act with dignity and respect for authority and fellow beings.
Me and My Dad
For young girls, fathers serve to teach daughters how they should be treated by a man, how he should behave toward them. And, for daughters, fathers are often far more influential in teaching the same lessons on citizenship, behavior, and decency than any other influence in their lives.
My own father taught me all of these things and to have the courage of my convictions. That principle is far more expensive than anything else. And far more important. That family and love for your children reign supreme along with allegiance to G-d and country.
But far too many kids in America never learn these things because they’ve never had a father in their lives. And the problem in America is growing. It’s no coincidence that the decline of America is concurrent with the decline of fathers and men in America.
In Wisconsin, where the problem of matriarchal families lacking fathers is representative of that in other states, Democrat Gov. Jim Doyle has declared June “Fathers Make a Difference Month.”
That’s because, according to Doyle, one in every four children in Wisconsin grows up in a single-parent household and 21 percent of children are raised by single mothers.
Doyle says fathers are especially important to children under 3. Those kids learn and develop primarily through play and fathers spend more time engaging their children in play than any other adults in a child’s life.
In other states and the District of Columbia, the numbers of kids growing up without a father is astronomical. In many urban areas, upwards of 80% of kids have no father.
And as I’ve noted previously on this site, with 40% of American babies now born to single mothers, America is unique from other nations in that these single mother households have no father figure whatsoever. As I’ve also noted on this site, these single mothers are the irresponsible morons who take their kids to see graphically violent and sexually explicit movies, like “Friday The 13th.” They simply don’t care about their kids the way a father does.
In divorced families, in States like Michigan, fathers get full custody of their children only 7% of the time, whereas mothers get it over 70% of the time, a figure frequently cited by my friend, family law attorney and father’s rights activist Dennis Vatsis.
That’s not a good thing for America’s kids, and definitely a factor in why we are turning out wimpish, sensitive, slacker boys (and Obama voters), not strong, hard-working, achieving men.
Again, as regular readers know, on this site, every single day is Father’s Day, as it should be–but isn’t–in America.
Unlike the media and pop culture (which constantly mocks and denigrates fathers and men), I always recognize the importance of fathers and strong men in the lives of America’s kids and America, in general. It’s not something I note here 1/365th of the time.
Nor should that be the frequency that you recognize it. Strong fathers as heads of nuclear households are dying out, as a result of media, pop culture, and other societal influences.
And, again, along with that, our country is dying, too. Mr. Moms don’t make a great country. You cannot have a strong society that functions as a matriarchy. There have been no great, long-term matriarchies in history. And there won’t be. Wonder Woman is a figment of comic books and pop culture only.
So, if you are lucky enough to have a father in your life, I hope you appreciate him and the lessons he taught you. If you had a father in your life, his influence on you is everlasting, and there is no substitute.
And your recognition and appreciation of this should be a daily thing, not something restricted for today–a day that always pales in comparison for the homage we collectively pay on Mother’s Day.
To those of you who are fathers and grandfathers, Happy Father’s Day. And to my own Dad, Happy Father’s Day and Birthday to you. I miss and think of you every single day.
A nation of good father’s is the real national security that we are losing on a regular basis. Secure borders and freedom from Islamic terrorism won’t change that.
But the lack of strong, active fathers in America’s children’s lives only enhances and contributes to those problems from within.
My Dad, H.L. Schlussel, MD (Center) Receives Award From
Michigan Lions Club for Providing Free Eye Care to the Poor, Blind
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What’s the best advice your father gave you? What did your dad say or do that influenced you or helped you in life?
Sounds like a good man-too bad we can’t take his genes and put them in our congress. Happy fathers day
mindy1 on June 21, 2009 at 12:49 pm