Responsibility

Yesterday was Father's Day. I love my dad, flaws and all, for all that he's done for me and my family. I can never underestimate the role that he has played in my life. And I thank God for him and the love he shows.

Yesterday was also a day when the Democratic presumptive nominee for the presidency gave a speech at an African-American church in Chicago. The theme of the message was a very sensitive and delicate matter in the black community - the lack of moral responsibility of the black male in the family. Mr. Obama said, "Too many fathers are M.I.A., too many fathers are AWOL, missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it." He later went on to say, "We need families to raise our children. We need fathers to recognize that responsibility doesn't just end at conception. That doesn't just make you a father. What makes you a man is not the ability to have a child. Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you a father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father." And though I do not necessarily agree with all of his political views, I will give him credit for the audacity to speak so bluntly on this race-sensitive matter.

But to take it one notch higher, it is not just an African-American problem, although it is more prevalent in the black community. The strength of families strongly depend on the health and vibrancy of two parents (mother and father) in all communities, and in this post-baby boomer generation, there seems to be a dearth of responsible young males dedicated to their wives and their children. How do you inspire faithful and responsible males in this generation in which popular culture says that sleeping around and having children out of wedlock is the fun thing to do? It almost seems hopeless.

But one thing that encouraged me yesterday was when some of the wives of our church read letters written from their hearts to their husbands and the fathers of their children. It showed me a glimpse of hope that there are men in the church today who are striving to fulfill their calling to be faithful husbands and loving fathers. And though I am still far away from even thinking about being a husband and a father, I am inspired by the examples I see and hope to follow in their footsteps.