The importance of fatherhood

This week’s U.S. News & World Report has an interesting cover story on “Father Figures“, featuring the role fatherhood played in the lives of six leading presidential candidates.

Call it the father factor. To a remarkable degree, the top-tier presidential hopefuls for 2008, Democrats and Republicans alike, had fathers who played powerful roles in shaping their lives, their values, and even their approaches to politics. Most, in fact, are children of strict authority figures or patriarchs who instilled in their sons and daughters the classic American values of self-discipline, perseverance, and the work ethic. They also taught them not to quit despite adversity. The result is a brood of candidates who are fighting one of the most prolonged, never-say-die nominating contests in history.

I’m glad to see this. The imporance of fathers has been the driving force behind Bill Cosby’s campaign to build strong communities by recovering and building on the importance of fathers. He wrote the book “Fatherhood”, and continues to emphasize that critical role whenever he gets the opportunity. Here’s a good discussion from ‘Meet the Press’ recently.

If you have this generational, fatherless situation, unwed father or whatever, but the male is not there, then it, it registers on another person, on, on the child as abandonment…Somewhere in my life a person called my father has not shown up, and I feel very sad about this because I don’t know if I’m ugly, I don’t know what the reason is.” And so there’s a great deal that a person has to put up with.

Read the transcript, both guests make compelling point.

And Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas came out with his book “My Grandfather’s Son” in October, witnessing the powerful influence his grandfather had on the direction of his life. And his faith, ethics, values, and principles.

And, of course, there’s the Holy Father…