As Father’s Day Approaches, Read Ralph Brewer’s Article on the Importance of Fathers
-
Fathers Do Matter
Executive Director, Ralph Brewer
Feminist Gloria Steinem is given credit for the phrase, but she says it actually should be attributed to someone named Irina Dunn. Here is the quote: “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” Yes, most of the people in our post-modern age think they know better than God. But, given time, they are always proven to be wrong.
Back in 1999, there was a problem in Africa of elephant overpopulation. To address the problem, they moved the baby elephants to new preserves. There was significant concern as to whether the young elephants would survive alone. To the surprise of those involved, the young elephants had no problem making the adjustments. They thrived in the new environment.
Unfortunately, there were also unintended consequences. In a few years, they began to find a number of rhinoceros dead — killed. The authorities soon learned that the killers were those young male elephants. This was such unusual behavior that the game wardens initially didn’t believe it. The reason? The young males had grown up without fathers – without male role models. So, they brought some large mature bull elephants into this area. There was concern that it might be too late since the “adolescent males” had grown up to this point without the older elephants. They were skeptical that it would accomplish anything. They tried it anyway. Interestingly enough, it did make a difference. When the mature, adult bulls arrived, things settled down pretty quickly. The older males imposed some needed discipline on the young males, immediately stopping their wild killing and violence. The reporter concluded that we had no idea the social system of the elephants was so complex, interconnected, and elegant. Diane Sollee, director of Smart Marriages, wrote at the time, “Daddies do matter, even in elephants.”
This world’s view that men and women are interchangeable is pure nonsense. My heart goes out to every single parent. A man cannot provide by himself all that a woman can provide and a woman cannot provide by herself all that a man can provide. A father teaches his son by example how a man should treat a woman. His relationship with his daughter is the number one predictor of her sexual behavior prior to marriage. There is no question that many single parents do a great job with the support of others. But, that is far different than saying fathers are unnecessary.
Isn’t it interesting that even in the animal kingdom — including elephants — daddies do make a difference and have a significant impact on their offspring? It seems to me the humanists and feminists are only fooling themselves. They aren’t fooling anybody else. Happy Father’s Day!!