Kathleen Parker: Bashing fathers is guaranteed applause-getter

But, throwing deadbeat dads in jail, as Barack Obama is seemingly wont to do, won't help children much -- either financially or psychologically.


Barack Obama's recent call for responsible fatherhood is welcome, overdue -- and misleadingly incomplete.

That America's fathers need to embrace their most important role is no secret. Activist fathers have been trying to make the same claim for decades, without much success.

Not all fathers are trying to be good dads, it goes without saying. But neither are all absent by choice, as Obama's message implied.

His plea to fathers came on Father's Day, a time we usually reserve for praising good men. Noting the plague of fatherless homes, he called on fathers who have abandoned their responsibilities to act like men, not boys.

Hear, hear.

We pause briefly to ponder the kind of response Obama might have received had he decided to criticize negligent moms on Mother's Day. No one in his right mind would do such a thing, but we're so accustomed to dissing dads that even a Father's Day reprimand leaves America's eyelashes unruffled.

Double standards are sometimes allowed for the greater good. We cut Obama slack because his message is so urgent. We also know that the African-American community has been hardest hit by father absence. In Obama's words:

"We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled -- doubled -- since we were children. We know the statistics -- that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it."

Obama is right on all of the above, but the stats are even worse. More than 70 percent of black children are born out of wedlock. Since 1960, we've tripled the number of American children living in fatherless homes, from 8 million to 24 million. The population as a whole increased just 1.7 times during that period.

What Obama fails to mention is that the problem of absent fathers, especially in the black community, is tied in part to well-intentioned social programs such as those the presumptive Democratic nominee intends to expand -- domestic violence prevention and child support collections.

As I point out in my book, "Save the Males: Why Men Matter; Why Women Should Care," cracking down on deadbeats is one of those guaranteed applause-getters, but most of the fathers of whom Obama is speaking make less than $10,000 a year -- or are unemployed.

Throwing them in jail won't help children much, either financially or psychologically. The truth, meanwhile, seems unwelcome in political circles: Most employed men pay their child support in full and on time, and always did, without government prodding.

Similarly, furthering the public impression that only men are guilty of domestic violence is counterproductive if the goal is truly to bring fathers home. That's because as the system is currently set up, men lose all legal rights to home and children if a woman charges assault. The accused is guilty until proven innocent.

Clearly, the state has a compelling interest in protecting women and children from abusive men -- where they exist. But not all charges are legitimate and the state's punitive powers, permitted without due process, are mind-boggling. Once the system is engaged and injunctions issued, even innocent fathers are unlikely to see much of their children. Perhaps never.

On Mother's Day, we didn't hear much about women initiating domestic violence, including child abuse, though some studies show that they do more often than men. That's not a popular statistic, for the good reason that women more often than men suffer grave injury or are killed in physical disputes.

Those two dueling facts highlight the lose-lose nature of the domestic violence debate. But if prevention of violence and preservation of the family are indeed our goals, then the solution involves focusing on the causes of family violence, including women's role, not promising to make things tougher only on fathers.

Changing the system won't be easy, but Obama is uniquely positioned to make a difference in the conversation. He should begin by saying that bringing fathers back into the family means ending the demonization of men and the culture's trivialization of fatherhood.

That would be a change we could believe in.

Contact Kathleen Parker at kparker@kparker.com.


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Comments » 3

blockhead writes:

Dear Chatty Kathy,
I read and re-read your article: “Bashing fathers is…” (6/19/08) in the local Republican rag of a newspaper. I still have trouble finding the point of your article because of all of the qualifiers you use: such as most, most and most. You certainly can say anything if you put “most” in front of it can’t you. “Perhaps” seems to work well for you also. The article turns out to be a not so cleverly hidden advertisement for your book, which must be doing poorly for you to have to promote it like this. Can’t find anyone else to do it for you?
You took a clear message delivered by Barack Obama on the important role that father’s play in the family and twisted it into a not so clearly supported denunciation of government interference. Where did you get the idea that: “Most employed men pay their child support in full and on time, and always did, without government prodding.” Did you just make that up and figure you could get away with it by prefacing it with “most”. In my state they use the licensing power of the state: drivers license, professional license etc., to ensure prompt and total payment of child support and it works! No pay, no license, no kidding. And guess what, the rate of unpaid child support went way down: Government in action. “Well intentioned social programs are the problem”, indeed not!
I have never thought that men were demonized in today’s society. If that is your point, you didn’t make it clear what you base that idea on. Our city, like many metropolitan cities, suffers from throw-away kids produced by drop-out teens who end up in jail or the morgue and let the streets run with their unsupervised young thugs. Dads are needed in the home and that is what Barack was saying loud and clear.

ddwbna writes:

blockhead - The CA is a "Republican rag"!?! Wow! I can't resist the obvious question -- what would you consider to be a mainstream pub? ...or (ulp) a "Democrat rag"? Thanks. -ddw

blockhead writes:

Why do you ask? Ever read the Memphis Flyer? What's your point? just what?


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