Children, half-children and absent fathers

February 21, 2013

On the other side of this blog, there’s a new post about Obama, the Prez. of the United States — thomasfroese.com/2013/will-barack-obama-come-to-africa/

It’s a piece about Obama’s relationship, or lack of, with Africa. Which is interesting, I think, because he’s a half-child of this continent, as his father — his absent father, that is — was Kenyan.

And speaking of children, or half-children and absent fathers, digging through some files here I see that Obama also had this to say one Father’s Day when talking about fatherlessness in American society.

Keep in mind that fatherlessness in Africa is an even greater scourge than in the west, and without social safety nets.

What Obama noted was this: “Children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime, nine times more likely to drop out of school and 20 times more likely to end up in prison.”

Of course, we don’t need any country’s president to spell this out for us. We know it from our own observation. Dads who are around give their kids a lot more hope in life.

This isn’t to say that it’s not possible for fatherless kids to become, say, the president of the United States. But that’s just not the norm.

And while keeping the kids in school, out of jail, and with something in their pockets are not the only reasons for couples to stay together – they’re some pretty good ones.

It’s all good to think about on Father’s Day. And any other day. Like today.

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February 21, 2013 • Posted in
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