Juan Williams is a good man. I've always liked him, not always agreed with him, since I first saw him on crossfire. BTW crossfire used to be a good. Pat Buchanan vs. Michael Kinsley..... those were the days.
Posted on 06/14/2008 9:15:18 PM PDT by gpapa
Walter Dean Myers, a best-selling author of books for teenagers, sometimes visits juvenile detention centers in his home state of New Jersey to hold writing workshops and listen for stories about the lives of young Americans.
One day, in a juvenile facility near his home in Jersey City, a 15-year-old black boy pulled him aside for a whispered question: Why did he write in "Somewhere in the Darkness" about a boy not meeting his father because the father was in jail? Mr. Myers, a 70-year-old black man, did not answer. He waited. And sure enough, the boy, eyes down, mumbled that he had yet to meet his own father, who was in jail.
As we celebrate Father's Day tomorrow, we should reflect upon a sad fact: It is now common to meet young people in our big city schools, foster-care homes and juvenile centers who do not know their dads. Most of those children have come face-to-face with their father at some point; but most have little regular contact with the man, or have any faith that he loves or cares about them.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
No joke. I could hardly find the Father’s Day card section at the grocery store.
A well written article by Juan Williams. The tragedy of kids without fathers affects so many....from the helpless/hopeless mother to the kids and to society which will ultimately pay the price for this situation.
For many males who are fatherless, joining a gang gives the feeling or sense of belonging to a family. The same for many convicts in prison today. If you have seen any of the documentaries of prison life and heard the prisoners there, so many appear to like belonging to the group.......where as on the outside the parolee would be on his own.
My sister raised 3 kids by herself, and thankfully all 3 turned out to be responsible adults. On more than one occasion she had said that kids raised by a single parent would turn out better if that single parent was a man, especially if one or more of the kids were boys.
Just some food for thought.
Then his own son complained one day that he, Myers, "sounded just like granddad" when he told the boy to pick up after himself, to work harder and show respect to people.
"I didn't know it at the time," says Mr. Myers of his stepfather, "but just having him around meant I was picking up his discipline, his pride, his work ethic. . ." He adds: "Until I heard it from my son I never understood it."
God bless fathers and all good men who step into that role.
Happy Father's Day, dads.
another victory for the left. the destruction of the American family and anything that would be considered stereotypical 1950’s America
these days, if i hear a leftie flapping their pie hole, i do not stay silent. those days are gone.. and that is how they got us into this mess.
so... i play their game of tit for tat. they can never handle anything requiring facts or references. and within a short time, they start to get angry... yelling or professing a desire to strike out (but when they are looking at someone that is built like a 6’2” linebacker.. they stay in their seats). at which point i ask about the so-called educated elite and how they are supposed to be able to debate with an openmind...
and of course... just to piss them off at about the time they are calling me a nazi... i pull out the voter id card and show the party affiliation... LIB... which means liberatian (there’s like 5 of us), but the leftie never knows that and just stares in disbelief thinking i’m a liberal
personally, in my lifetime, i will vote republican until the day i die... at which point, i’m sure i’ll be voting dem
Sadly my grandson who is 6 does not know his father. My daughter tried every way in the world to help them have a relationship- but his father got addicted to meth and is lost to the world now- as in literally missing and no one knows if he is even alive.
I do not know what the answer is, but it is truly sad for a child to not have a parent.
Hopefully your daughter can find a man to be a father figure in that boy’s life.
My husband is the father figure to him at least for now- they are quite a pair- grandson is picking up so many things; I noticed last week as the two walked away from me that grandson even has grandpa’s walking mannerism down pat, including the minor limp.
I know it is great for him to be so close to grandpa and he has the male figure to look up to- but I also know it is not really the same as having a relationship with a good father- he really should have both a father and grandfather.
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On illegitimacy, you reap what you sow.
It is not just the lack of a marriage license- my daughter was married- it made no difference to the fact that her son now does not have a father in the picture. There are many issues that cause children to not have a father in their life- that is only one of them.
The sad thing is- whatever the parents are sowing it is the children reaping.
I'm surprised there still is a father's day, that it hasn't been assaulted as politically incorrect or some such nonsense. The importance of fathers has been diminished greatly in American society. That is irrefutable.
Another reason for the disappearing father is a lack of responsibility stemming from entitlement programs. Not only do they teach people that the government is responsible for them but also that government support absolves men of providing for their children.
Will try and get into this thread tomorrow. Great and crucial topic.
ping
Juan Williams is a good man. I've always liked him, not always agreed with him, since I first saw him on crossfire. BTW crossfire used to be a good. Pat Buchanan vs. Michael Kinsley..... those were the days.
“My sister raised 3 kids by herself, and thankfully all 3 turned out to be responsible adults. On more than one occasion she had said that kids raised by a single parent would turn out better if that single parent was a man, especially if one or more of the kids were boys.”
I did it. It was the most valuable experience of my life.
I'm a father who raised 6 kids after my wife needed to leave and find herself. Result; she lives with a guy. 6 kids: General contractor, owner one of the most successful real estate offices, radiologist, heating and a/c contractor, crew chief, major airline, domestic engineer with her kids in college.
Watching the news around here(Charlotte, NC)and seeing the crimes committed by young murderers normally from single female households is getting worse day by day.
It is a shame most people don't appreciate the value of family unit(husband and wife) committed to their marriage and their kids.
“I’m a father who raised 6 kids after my wife needed to leave and find herself.”
WOW. I raised 6 sons under the same circumstances. I thought I was alone out here. Can’t say it wasn’t without a few rough spots but they all turned out just fine. Three Marines, Two soldiers and one sailor. All using their GI bill. The grand kids are the best part.
best regards
dozer
real men are a menace to the nanny state......
Welfare has also replaced the Father.
Also sadly, my daughter had two kids by a loser and still thinks he is a great guy although he wants nothing to do with her. Unfortunately her taste in men still hasn’t changed. She is still attracted to losers. Her current boyfriend was recently arrested for assault and the investigater told her that he was a crackhead. I have to keep tabs on her so my wife and I can take the kids should the need arise.
Drugs are the biggest cause I see of children being raised badly. My daughter was in denial about her husband’s drug addiction for a while; he was a great guy, and well on his way to getting his own business off the ground so I can understand it was hard for her to accept when he became a druggie loser. One day he went off on her in a meth rage and if another daughter hadn’t broke a window and went in and stunned him with a really large book to the head I think he would have killed her. I brought her and grandon to my house and told her if she even for one minute considered going back to him I would take her son in a heartbeat. She knew I would do it, so at least we never had to go through the back and forth nonsense. I took some criticism because he went into rehab. and I heard a lot of the sickness and health from meddlesome people thinking she should stand by him. As it turns out he was clean about 6 months after rehab- if that; and was back on meth with a vengence. Went to prison for a while, when he got out he was just a gutter addict.
My daughter is in nursing school and will graduate in December- I am so glad I put my foot down that she and my grandson did not need to go through his “sickness” with him. I believe in standing by your husband- but to me when drugs are involved all bets are off when it comes to vows.
Bump. Sadly, the time and distance between generations is increasing as well. Years ago it was the responsibility of one’s children to take care of their parents in their old age. Nowadays they ship them off to non-descript “senior” dwellings where their experiences and values are shared, not with kith and kin who need it the most, but with other displaced and/or shunned grandparents.
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Juan Williams has the moral backbone to replace Russert. NBC should think about it...
From the article: “Having a dad, in short, is now a privilege, a ticket to middle-class status on par with getting into a good college.”
In a nutshell, whether you have a father at home or not will determine your children’s success. Every time I read an article like this, I want another kid to provide them a stable family life.
I disagree with Juan Williams on politics. But he clearly “gets it.”
“Juan Williams has the moral backbone to replace Russert. NBC should think about it...”
Which is precisely the reason why they (sadly) won’t pick him. Juan Williams is clearly a liberal, but one of the few I can listen to without feeling like I’m hearing to fingernails on a chalkboard.
Add abortion to that. When men are repeatedly told that they have no saying in whether their children live or die, how can you expect them to keep on caring?
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