A salute to fathers

The Palestine Herald

June 14, 2008 11:34 pm

— Today is the day we salute fathers across this nation.
A special salute should be given to all of the dads; the men who had a game of catch with their sons even though their arms were tired from a hard day of work; the men who folded themselves in half to fit in a half-sized chair to have “afternoon tea” with their daughters.
We should all hold up the men who swelled with pride when their child put forth a solid effort, even though the results may not have said so. Everybody should shake the hands of the men who will give their sons a hug after they walk across the graduation platform and a special pat on the back should be given to all the men who shed a tear when they gave their daughters away on their wedding day.
These are the dads who were there throughout their children’s lives. They were there to fix the scraped knees; and to hold the bicycle up when the training wheels came off.
More importantly, though; these dads were there to teach them right from wrong; to keep them on the straight and narrow; and these dads were there to discipline children who have gone astray, even though it breaks their hearts.
A dad is a man who put his family above everything else in his life. A dad is a man who loved his children, but at the same time garnered respect from them.
These are what real dads do; and they deserve every thanks we can give them on this Fathers Day.
There are other men who should be chastised for their behavior.
These are the men who make the babies and run for the next willing woman. These are the men who when the going got tough, they got going. These are the men who refused to be a part of their children’s lives, much less take any responsibility for them.
Too much, it seems, modern society has marginalized the need for dads. The single mom is revered, while dads are treated like an afterthought, mostly because we have become a society that seems to expect the men to leave.
Instead, why don’t we proclaim the value a father can bring to the family?
Nothing can ever replace a mother, but neither can a real father be replaced.
Society needs dads. There are way too many young boys growing up in this country who have no idea how to act as men because they have no men in their lives.
Men, society can’t be blamed for this phenomenon. There comes a time when any man must take responsibility for his actions and his family. Once they begin to do this, then they can earn the revered title of “Dad.”