Fatherhood: What Our National Leaders Say About Fatherhood

Fatherhood: What Our National Leaders Say About Fatherhood

As this Sunday is Father's Day I am beginning a week long series on Fatherhood. This post is the first of this series..  A very important topic that can never be discussed enough.  Today we will take a look at what three national leaders have to say about fatherhood and its importance.  I dedicate this series to my Dad, Fred L. Tousey.  While he became a father later in life he mastered the role so very well.  I only had my dad in for my first eight years he was a great role model in how to be engaged.  Rest in Peace Dad.  I will never forget you. 1915-1967

“Our fathers bear an awesome responsibility --- one that they shoulder willingly and fulfill with a love that asks no recompense.  By turns both gentle and firm, our fathers guide us along the path from infancy to adulthood.  We embody their joy, pain and sacrifices, and inherit memories more cherished than any possession.”   --- President Ronald Reagan, 1981 Father’s Day Proclamation

In 2001, President George W. Bush speaking to the Fourth National Summit on Fatherhood observed “Raising a child requires sacrifice, effort, time, and presence. And there is a wide gap between our best intentions and the reality of today's society. More than one third of American children are living apart from their biological fathers. Of these, five out of six do not see their fathers more than once a week.  Forty percent of the children who live in fatherless households have not seen their fathers in at least a year. Some fathers are forced away by circumstances beyond their control, but many times when a couple with children splits up, the father moves away or simply drifts away.

We know that children who grow up with absent fathers can suffer lasting
damage. They are more likely to end up in poverty or drop out of school,
become addicted to drugs, have a child out of wedlock, or end up in prison. Fatherlessness is not the only cause of these things, but our Nation must recognize it is an important factor.”

  

This problem is recognized across party lines.  Vice President Al Gore speaking at the same summit in 1998 observed,  “The most influential moral teachers in the world -- are mothers and fathers. But fathers -- often because of their absence -- are making far less use than mothers of their power as moral teachers. That is why I believe the single most promising approach for improving our lives, our society, and our world in the next century is to help men become better fathers. Fatherhood, I believe, is the most underused power for good on the face of the earth.”

During his speech Vice President Gore discussed a personal conflict that occurred during his vice presidency, between fatherhood and his job.  He courageously chose fatherhood.  Here is his story. 

“I had scheduled a meeting with a visiting head of state at the White House, and my daughter's soccer game went into double overtime. Tipper was making a speech on mental health in another city, and it was my turn to give out the snacks at the end of the game.  As we began the first overtime, I was thinking "let's call it a draw, kids." As we began the second overtime, I saw diplomatic catastrophe written right across the front page of the newspaper. Fortunately, the game ended, I gave out the snacks, and the interpreter really earned his pay when I went through my detailed account of what happened. But I knew the individual; I had met him before, and he understood. He was a father, too. “

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[i] Bush, George, W. Remarks  to the Fourth National Summit on Fatherhood, June 7, 2001.

[ii] Gore, Al, Remarks  to the Second National Summit on Fatherhood, June 15, 1998.