Leftists have devised a simple yet amazingly effective formula to
engender social discord: break up the family, marginalize fathers, and
then blame the whole mess on men.
The pattern can be traced back to LBJ's Great Society which spawned
welfare programs that withheld benefits as long as dad was around. Then
came Roe v. Wade, which disenfranchised fathers from the most
fundamental decisions involving their unborn young.
Next, no-fault divorce laws set the stage for widescale child custody
awards to moms. And finally draconian child support programs sent
low-income dads shuffling off to debtor's prison.
Judging by Census Bureau reports, this anti-father jihad made stunning
in-roads. From 1960 to 1990, the number of American children living with
their biological fathers plunged from 82% to 62%.
Of course unfathered children portend the continued unraveling of the
social order and the rise of the welfare state. Leftists see nothing
wrong with that.
But now people are catching on to the game plan and dads are staging a
comeback. State lawmakers are passing laws that level the playing field
for divorcing dads. Congress is weighing a $300 million bill to promote
marriage and fatherhood. And most important, the precipitous rise in
fatherless households has finally begun to level off.
Of course, this comes as bad news to the feminist-inspired Left. In
their mind, every father that is removed from their children's lives is
one step closer to the matriarchal nirvana. And the Left has no
intention of relinquishing its hegemony over the social welfare debate.
So in August the California Supreme Court ruled on a
child
custody case
involving two lesbians and concluded, "We perceive no reason why both
parents of a child cannot be women." Last month the Public Broadcasting
Service aired a "documentary" that libels divorcing fathers who seek
child custody as abusers and batterers.
And Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is now under fire because - gasp!
- he once
argued that husbands should be notified before their wives
obtained an abortion.
As we approach the Thanksgiving season, we have reason to be thankful
for two recent publications which affirm the abiding truth that fathers
are one of our nation's most treasured natural resources.
Just last week the National Fatherhood Initiative
released the findings
of a national marriage survey. The report found that nine out of ten
Americans believe that as a rule, the best place for childrearing is a
household with a father and mother. Even more interesting, 97% of
respondents believe that fathers are just as important as mothers for
the proper development of children.
And now Senator Rick Santorum has come out with a book that outlines an
ambitious agenda to reclaim America from the Leftist onslaught. It Takes
a Family documents how welfare programs have only deepened dependence of
the poor on government largesse -- and along the way tweaks the nose of
Hillary Clinton's It Takes a Village.
For example, in 1965, 21% of all American children under the age of 18
lived in poverty. Thirty years and billions of welfare dollars later,
the number of American children living in poverty was - guess what? -
21%.
Add to that the rise of fractured families, illegitimacy, and the
increased number of children at risk of abuse and neglect, and the
failure of the welfare entitlement system is beyond dispute.
Santorum views dads as lead players in the nation's moral
revitalization: "a community that is short on fathers is almost always
short on generalized trust or social capital."
Sen. Santorum is especially critical of our gender-biased divorce
system: "It is one of the few places left in our culture where sexism is
not only condoned but virtually celebrated." Plus, dads often must
contend with ex-wives who "often make it difficult for the fathers of
their children to visit."
Santorum highlights the epidemic of Black men who have fallen into the
clutches of the criminal justice system. At any given day, 12% of Black
men ages 20-34 are in prison. "Think about what that means: fewer
fathers, fewer husbands, and fewer male breadwinners," he laments.
If anyone who doubts the failure of the Leftist social agenda, recall
the haunting images of the women and children stranded in the rising
flood waters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As the levees melted
way, government officials remained oblivious to the impending disaster.
So where were the men? Married men had already whisked their families
out of harm's way.
And all the others? They had been casually cast aside, reassured that
their mothers, sisters, girlfriends, and children would be safe and
secure in the government's social safety net.
Yes, it only takes a village.
