Lee Habeeb - another great conservative

THE FATHER PRIVILEGE: TURNING BOYS INTO MEN IS A DAD'S JOB

[www.newsweek.com]

Much has been written in academia about white privilege. But the privilege that matters most in life, I’ve come to believe, is "The Father Privilege."

I know the advantages my father passed along to me. I would not be the man I am today, the husband and father, without his example. He’s 86, and still influencing me.

Turning boys into men is no duckwalk. It’s something the state can’t do. Or a social worker. It’s something mothers can't do alone, as hard as they may try—and as good and heroic as they are. Fathers are uniquely qualified to do this work. And uniquely situated. Dads play a critical—and underappreciated—role in their daughter's lives, too.

Though few people in the media or academia are talking or writing about it, fatherlessness may be the single biggest social problem in America. Rates of sexual abuse, academic and discipline problems, incarceration rates, gang activity and even poverty itself all increase dramatically when a dad is not present in children’s lives. The hole it leaves in the hearts of sons and daughters is underappreciated. And devastating.

To all of the good dads out there—not perfect dads, just good ones—thank you. Not enough is written about you, the men in this country taking on the responsibilities and pleasures of fatherhood. And disappointments too.

Your steadiness and steadfastness may not make for good fiction, but it makes for a good life. Your effort to shape the next generation of husbands and fathers is the most important work in America.