It seems appalling to me how many people, especially the militant feminists, perpetuate and actually believe the popular, contemporary idea that a father in the home is irrelevant or unnecessary. And for those who are willfully ignorant of the truth and who are looking to reinforce that foolishness, there are several, so called “studies” suggesting that traditional family structures with both a mother and a father are unnecessary in the successful development of well-adjusted children.
Yet, in spite of those bogus "studies," the absence of fathers in the home, due to the breakdown of traditional family structures has resulted in a dearth of strong male influence on young people in general and boys in particular. And that, in my opinion, is the reason we have so many sissy boys who grow up to become girly men.
While channel surfing one night, I was drawn to a “60 Minutes” story about some recent, unusual deaths of white rhinoceroses (of course that caught my attention) in an African wildlife preserve. Nearly ten percent of them had been senselessly killed. Park officials did not suspect that the killings were the work of poachers because the horns had not been removed. They eventually discovered that the perpetrators were ”a gang of juvenile delinquents.”
They started with annoying pranks like dousing the Rhinos with water or pelting them with dirt. Soon their taunting turned mean-spirited and they began to drive the rhinos off their turf. The gang grew increasingly more sinister and eventually started beating the rhinos to death with stones and clubs.
In their attempts to protect the rhinos, one ranger actually shot and killed one of the delinquents. A park representative told the reporter, “the problem is they (the delinquents) don’t have any role models; everyone needs a role model.”
So who were these delinquents? They were young, bull elephants. About twenty years ago, the elephant population had grown too large for the preserve. To control the gr
owth, the older, mature male elephants were destroyed and the young ones were saved. Wildlife management officials now realize how those decisions resulted in the dysfunctional socialization of the elephants. They made the following observations:
Yet, in spite of those bogus "studies," the absence of fathers in the home, due to the breakdown of traditional family structures has resulted in a dearth of strong male influence on young people in general and boys in particular. And that, in my opinion, is the reason we have so many sissy boys who grow up to become girly men.
While channel surfing one night, I was drawn to a “60 Minutes” story about some recent, unusual deaths of white rhinoceroses (of course that caught my attention) in an African wildlife preserve. Nearly ten percent of them had been senselessly killed. Park officials did not suspect that the killings were the work of poachers because the horns had not been removed. They eventually discovered that the perpetrators were ”a gang of juvenile delinquents.”
They started with annoying pranks like dousing the Rhinos with water or pelting them with dirt. Soon their taunting turned mean-spirited and they began to drive the rhinos off their turf. The gang grew increasingly more sinister and eventually started beating the rhinos to death with stones and clubs.
In their attempts to protect the rhinos, one ranger actually shot and killed one of the delinquents. A park representative told the reporter, “the problem is they (the delinquents) don’t have any role models; everyone needs a role model.”
So who were these delinquents? They were young, bull elephants. About twenty years ago, the elephant population had grown too large for the preserve. To control the gr
owth, the older, mature male elephants were destroyed and the young ones were saved. Wildlife management officials now realize how those decisions resulted in the dysfunctional socialization of the elephants. They made the following observations:- Mature bulls teach the young how to act in elephant society and how to cohabitate with other species in their environment.
- Since there were no mature bulls in the herd, the young bulls were unchallenged and uncontrolled in their sexual activities.
- The sexual activity of the young elephants caused high testosterone production and contributed to the aggressiveness that resulted in the killing of the rhinos.
So now wildlife managers are importing and reintroducing stronger and more mature bull elephants into the herds to become “step-fathers.” But officials believe that it may be too late and that it may become necessary to kill several others before they can correct the problem.
Now, unless you are irrational and unthinking or just plain stupid, you must surely recognize some parallel principles for human socialization. Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Everybody, sooner or later, sits down to a banquet of consequences.”
In his book, “Anchor Man,” Steve Farrar presents an extensive menu for the “banquet of consequences” that has been set before us as a result of an increasingly fatherless America.
Now, unless you are irrational and unthinking or just plain stupid, you must surely recognize some parallel principles for human socialization. Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Everybody, sooner or later, sits down to a banquet of consequences.”
In his book, “Anchor Man,” Steve Farrar presents an extensive menu for the “banquet of consequences” that has been set before us as a result of an increasingly fatherless America.
- 85 percent of all children who exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes.
- 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
- 71 percent of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes.
- 75 percent of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes.
- 63 percent of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.
- 70 percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes.
- 85 percent of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in fatherless homes.
- 80 percent of rapists come from fatherless homes.
Nearly half of American children live in fatherless homes and we have been told that there would be no adverse affects. But there are. In an article titled “Life Without Father,” (New York Free Press, 1996), David Popenoe notes, “…from careful examination of the evidence, today’s fatherlessness has led to social turmoil - - damaged children, unhappy children, aimless children, children who strike back with pathological behavior and violence…The repercussions go far beyond children to include a steady deterioration in the lives of adult men and women. If present trends continue, our society could be on the verge of committing social suicide.”
I believe boys need good, strong, godly men to teach them how to become real men (girls need dads too). People will argue and experts will disagree, but I am thankful that I had a father who was present and involved in my upbringing and, along the way, there were several good male influences and role models in my life.
I believe boys need good, strong, godly men to teach them how to become real men (girls need dads too). People will argue and experts will disagree, but I am thankful that I had a father who was present and involved in my upbringing and, along the way, there were several good male influences and role models in my life.
1 comment:
Wow, that is incredibly sad. I know my husband's first grade class is mostly comprised of single parent families but I suppose I assumed it was because he worked in a "project-improvement" school.
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