The DesertLight Journal |
Courage to Consider The dust and ash continues to settle from the 911 attacks on America. We continue to hear stories of the brave men who perished as heroes, and fought to save lives in the midst of the destruction. Now we are in a war against terrorism in the far reaches of the world where more men have already died. Throughout history our men young and old have continuously shown their courage. They have fought, died, and have returned home crippled, from fighting to protect liberty and freedom all around the world. So why is it that we take so lightly the courage of the American man and the principles for which he has fought over the years to protect. It is time to take a closer look at the courage of the American man and consider his position in our society. I am weary of hearing about the fire fighters and police officers of New York City. These are of course brave men who were doing what men do, their job. It was sad to see how the media only considers these New York public servants as heroes. There were search and rescue teams who traveled from all over the country to contribute in the efforts, yet the focus remained on the New Yorkers. The point being is that how we take men for granted on a day-to-day basis while they work continually contributing to society. A man doesn't have to be a fire fighter or policeman to be a hero, nor does he have to be superman. Anyone, man or woman who does his or her best each day is or should be considered a hero. Take the Special Olympics for instance, this is a perfect example of people who are hero's simply because they do the best they can. Everyone should agree that the most important job a man can have is to be a husband and a father. I would submit that even the fire fighter who saves a life or even an hundred lives is a bigger hero to his own family because he is a husband and father. The backbone of civilization is the traditional family that includes the father as the head of the household. The strength of a family comes from the mother and father working together. It doesn't take a village to raise a child it takes a family. Two parents, who supply the financial support and guidance to care, nurture, and educated a child. What I want to have considered is why are men and fathers an endangered part of American society. Why do they get no consideration or justice in what should be their most important responsibility. Parenting. With illegitimacy and divorce, up to and above 70% of Americas children are raised without their biological fathers in the home. Why has family and fatherhood lost it place in American society? Why is it now considered acceptable for over 30% of our children to be born to single mothers? In 1999 there were 1,500,000 illegitimate births. These are not children who lost their fathers or who have fathers who walked out on them. These are children who never had fathers. In the news recently was a segment that showed the story of mother and her newborn child. The father had been killed in the WTC attack. This is of course a sad story but why is this more of a tragedy than the fatherlessness caused by the illegitimacy and divorce epidemics in this country? Why is it acceptable to have a divorce rate of 50% and an illegitimacy rate of over 30%? Why is it not important to protect these children's rights to their fathers and a father's rights to his children? Why don't we fight illegitimacy and protect a man's parental rights to decide to have children when he is married? Is it not tragic that over 70% of our nations children do not have a relationship with their biological fathers? Men aren't considered important when the welfare system funds single motherhood, except to be held financially liable. In the family courts men aren't considered important as father's or parents. If they were there would be a standard of equal or shared custody for both parents, not the current applied standards of custody and visitation where a non-custodial parent (almost always the father) gets 20% access to their own children. The same unequal parenting laws are prevalent in divorce also. We now have divorce on demand where women file for 80% of the divorces. Women get the house, children, alimony, and half of the family assets. The man is left with his new expenses of finding a place to live to start his new life alone. He is forced to start over while having to maintain the financial obligations of the woman he is no longer married to and the children he is not considered important enough to share equally in their lives. This is a complete destruction of the man's life. His family is taken from him with no explanation as to why he is no longer capable of being an equal parent and the financial burdens he is left with all but eliminates his possibility of a new future. Its time to have the courage to consider the man's position in society as a husband and a father, a vocation truly worthy of hero status on a daily basis. We must protect his parental rights in cases of divorce, and work against illegitimacy where he has no parental rights and choices. It is time to realize that welfare and child support funds illegitimacy and the woman's right to choose to be a parent while denying her children their rights to a father. We need to restore the father's position in American society as a necessary component of the family. To do this we must protect the man's parental rights and family planning choices. We must look at the family law system and consider what it is doing to the family and society by overlooking the man's value as a father. |
