Honor Fathers

With Fathers' Day approaching, it might be in order to remind ourselves that, far from being "optional", as our society would seem to believe, fathers are crucial to the well-being, happiness and the success of children.

From the Patriot Post:

Divorce, which typically results in the absence of fathers from their headship
role within the family, is the single most significant common denominator
among all categories of social and cultural entropy.

"Maturity does not come with age, but with the accepting of responsibility
for one's actions," writes Dr. Edwin Cole, a fatherhood advocate. "The lack
of effective, functioning fathers is the root cause of America's social,
economic and spiritual crises."

Currently, only one in three children---and only one in five inner-city
children---is in a home with a mother and father. Nearly 25 million children
live absent or apart from their biological fathers.

"Children who grow up with their fathers do far better---emotionally,
educationally, physically, every way we can measure---than children who do
not," notes family researcher David Blankenhorn. "This conclusion holds true
even when differences of race, class and income are taken into account. The
simple truth is that fathers are irreplaceable in shaping the competence and
character of their children... [The absence of fathers] from family life is
surely the most socially consequential family trend of our era."

Indeed it is.
Here are some sobering statistics: According to the Center for Disease Control,
Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services and the Bureau
of the Census, the 30 percent of children who live apart from their fathers
will account for 63 percent of teen suicides, 70 percent of juveniles in
state-operated institutions, 71 percent of high-school dropouts, 75 percent
of children in chemical-abuse centers, 80 percent of rapists, 85 percent of
youths in prison, 85 percent of children who exhibit behavioral disorders,
and 90 percent of homeless and runaway children. In fact, children born to
unwed mothers are ten times more likely to live in poverty as children with
fathers in the home.

The causal link between fatherless children and crime is "so strong that
controlling for family configuration erases the relationship between
race and crime and between low income and crime," notes social researcher
Barbara Dafoe Whitehead. More to the point is the following comment from
a counselor at a juvenile-detention facility in California, which has the
nation's highest juvenile-incarceration rate: "[If] you find a gang member
who comes from a complete nuclear family, I'd like to meet him... I don't
think that kid exists."

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads whose presence, character, example, guidance, love and wisdom contribute to the raising of the best among us...good, happy, well-adjusted, productive, honest people, and good citizens.

Here's to Dads. Thanks for all that you do for us. We know how necessary you are, and what a difference you make in the life of a child.

God Bless Fathers.

The Gunslinger