America's Men, Fathers and Family

"No other success can compensate for failure in the home."-David O. McKay. I love this quote. I know that you can look into this and break it down and spin it to your liking. I would expect that. However, if you take it at face value, it means what it says. Whether we are debating the role of the father, the role of the mother, the role of the husband and wife, the most important part and the most gratifying part of having a family and home, is that its success is based upon the example and love of the parents towards each other and to their children.

I would challenge every person who enjoys having intimate relations, to recognize that if it DOES result in pregnancy, that they take ownership of their actions and hold themselves accountable for their actions and father or mother this new child of theirs and provide a loving home in which that child can develop and grow with a loving mom and dad. Any man can become a biological father, any woman can become a biological mother. It is one thing, to do that, it is quite another to truly become a mommy or a daddy. The reason that those terms are endearing and tender, are because our memories of our own mommies and daddies are parents who care about us and take care of us. They have unconditional love and are willing to die for us. They sacrifice their wants and desires to assure we have what we need.

It is imperative that these parents truly take part of the education process of their childrens' lives from the get go and NOT rely purely upon the education system to take care of their kids. The Department of Education does NOT have a WING dedicated to babysitting. It is very important that parents are interactive with their children's schoolwork as well as with their teachers. it is important that we KNOW when our children are unfortunately in positions that they need to be removed from.

Our homes should be havens, they should be refuges for our families, they should not be anything less, but in order for that to happen, we need, as a country, as men, as fathers, to be daddies. We need to take time away from ESPN, away from our DVDs, OUr laptops, our work and all that consumes our time away from our children and re-dedicate ourselves to our children. We need the men of this country to BE examples to their children and to show their kids what they should and should not do. The rule of life should NOT be, "Do as I say and not as I do." We should educate our children in a way that our actions can be reflected in their behavior and we can be proud of their upbringing. If our lives are in disarray, what can we expect, when the lives of our children are comparably dysfunctional? If we have conditions that require prescription medication, please be a responsible parent and take them so that your kids may see you and respect who and what they see.

The healthier our homes are spiritually, physically, mentally and socially, the more mature and educated our kids will be and the happier the overall feeling will be in the home!

Our kids are the future of this country, they depend upon us to assure that they get the education and the training they need to become well balanced and mature adults. We as adults and parents are solely responsible to see that they have the ability to get to that point.