#BringBackOurFathers

By avoiding hard questions in nearly every story connected to America’s most dysfunctional children, the liberal media help to perpetuate the fairy-tale about Democrats being the champions of society’s victims. However, who could be more of a victim than a child whose father’s love, discipline, and positive example have been replaced by the pretense of government benevolence? Last week, a high school English teacher at one of Detroit’s gang-plagued public schools made headlines after she used a broomstick to strike a student who was fighting in her classroom. The rarely present student started the brawl with another apparent member of the juvenile-delinquent honor roll. Fearing for the other student’s safety, the petite woman acted desperately by caning the instigator with a broom handle. According to the teacher, the boy she hit has such a sporadic attendance record that she barely even knows him.

As usual, the media targeted the drama surrounding the teacher’s actions and conveniently ignored the pertinent issue that most certainly contributed to the boys’ violence. Where are their fathers? The uncivilized behavior is far too common among youths without dads dedicated to their lives. Granted, a handful of fatherless kids overcome steep odds, but the vast majority simply proliferate the cycle of more fatherless and dysfunctional children, with half-siblings sired by incredibly proud slackers. Statistics about fatherless children reveal plenty concerning the chaos the news media pretend not notice almost every time stories involving bona fide juvenile delinquents appear. Of the youths in prison, 85 percent are from fatherless homes. Children without fathers account for 63 percent of youth suicides, 70 percent of teenage pregnancies, 80 percent of rapists with displaced anger, 85 percent of children with behavioral problems, and 71 percent of high school dropouts. Liberals, with their undaunted ability to ignore these ugly realities, blame society and phantom privileges for the deplorable statistics that coincide irrefutably with the rise of their counterproductive dogmas. Welfare, anti-Christianity, no-fault divorce, government-school monopoly, and Dr.-Spock discipline have done nothing but eliminate personal responsibility and accountability from our society. It is almost common knowledge that 72 percent of black children now grow up in homes without a father. Furthermore, despite the incredibly low graduation standards public schools have today, nearly 50 percent of black males drop out of school. Of course, black children are not alone in the disaster liberals have created by replacing a father’s hard-earned income, unconditional love, and stern discipline with government handouts, bleeding-heart psychobabble, and a child’s deep self-reflection. Last week, a white female teenager took a shovel to the head during a backyard scuffle in Ohio. The incident left the 18-year-old girl deaf in one ear. Apparently, the altercation stemmed from a social media feud with a 15-year-old stranger. Sadly, it comes as no surprise that the 18-year-old unemployed girl never graduated high school and lives with her pregnant and single mom, along with two other fatherless siblings. My personal experience teaching and mentoring teenagers has given me a much closer perspective than I often wish I had of the depressing statistics I have noted. Many of the teenagers I have worked with do not even know who their fathers are. Thankfully, some of those kids have stepfathers in their lives, but the hurt, anger, and confusion the kids feel toward the fathers who rejected them lurks just under the surface of what others see. Four months ago, one of my former wrestlers-turned-wannabe gang member was arrested for a shocking crime that made the national headlines. The gang-related shooting wounded three teenage victims, as well as a twelve-year-old boy who was shot through the eye. Exactly one week before the shooting, the 17-year-old former wrestler tried to contact me. I still have his message. I responded the following day, but he never followed up with me. Needless to say, I was stunned by the news that the boy I know had been arrested for the grisly shooting. Like so many dysfunctional teenagers, this boy did not have a steady father in his life. The whereabouts of his mother are sketchy, too. As a result, his grandparents had to raise him, but his emotional problems proved to be too much for them to handle. At the time of the shooting, which took place in his grandparents’ neighborhood, the boy was frequently staying with a friend from another neighborhood known to be associated with a rival gang to the gang operating in his grandparents’ neighborhood. Despite numerous coaches who attempted to help this boy, he showed little respect for anyone. By the time he reached middle school, he already had so many emotional problems that the discipline coaches tried to instill dissipated the instant he was on his own. Unfortunately, a similar attitude permeates among other fatherless children. As for his victims, the obvious question has been avoided there, too. Where are their fathers? Absent a father to speak on behalf of the thirteen-year-old, the victim’s mother gave an interview to dispel rumors that her son is associated with a gang. She stated firmly that the boy is not a gang member. Naturally, no mother wants her child to be a thug, but unfortunately, many single mothers are in denial about their children’s gang involvement. The thirteen-year-old’s social media contradicts his mother’s statement, as he posted pictures of his gunshot wounds, warned about being caught “slipping,” vowed to continue “thuggin”, and solicited volunteers to seek revenge. Such parent-child conflicts are normal according to defense attorneys and police officers. In fact, in the more notorious story involving Trayvon Martin, the teen’s social media provided a window into Martin’s life that his supporters across the nation still refuse to accept and expect everyone else to ignore. Furthermore, the involvement of Martin’s father in his son’s life is also still unclear. According to Martin’s aunt, Trayvon did not live with his mother or his father, but with his uncle. I know many kids in similar situations whose fathers are around but are not committed to the teens’ lives. On the other hand, the children whose fathers are devoted to their lives still face the perils of the streets. The statistics alone demonstrate the difference involved fathers make. However, personal experience adds an element statistics cannot reveal. The January prior to the church yard shooting, I received the alarming news that another one of my former wrestlers had been shot four times. Gang members robbed him during a backstreet weed deal. Amazingly, he survived despite two of the 9mm hollow point bullets striking him in the chest at close range. He told me the stray bullets sparked off the street lighting up the night as he ran for his life. Eventually, he collapsed from two rounds that entered his leg. The damage left him without control of his foot. Less than six months before the shooting, I had sat next to this young man’s mother and father at his baptism. That day at the church, their son made the following heartfelt statement: “All my life my teachers and coaches have told me I have a lot of talent. But today, I know I am nothing without Christ.” Obviously, learning about what he was doing when he was robbed and shot that winter night was incredibly disappointing. But his turnaround since being shot is not surprising. He has always been one of the most genuinely respectful young men I know. His work ethic is hard to match. And he has always done well in school. In fact, the local media reported on his recovery as it related to his playing college football. He returned to the field by the start of the fall season, and he never missed a game. He still does not have complete control of his foot, and one of the bullets remains lodged in his chest. His football coach praised him for having unmatched focus, determination, and commitment to succeed. But no one has bothered to give credit where credit is due. This young man’s father is the primary difference in his life. He is the man who instilled all the positive attributes in his son. And he is the man who set the example of a father’s role in a child’s life. I know other kids who have been shot and arrested, yet they fail to change the course of their lives. Then again, I almost understand their resistance. All they know is government dependence. Perhaps it will work when it raises their kids. Regardless, do you think the media will ever address the obvious question?