It's that simple. This past "Father's Day", all the fathers at my church in Denver stood-up with the female preacher, Michelle Medrano, when she asked fathers to stand.  Loud applause!  Gratitude! Everyone appreciated the understanding as to the challenges of fatherhood in the 21st century! 

But let's look at the barebones of what's happening in America today as to fathers, families and communities.

I remember during my teaching career when kids broke down in class because their parents filed for a divorce. They instantly suffered loss of "constancy, security, and well-being."  Of course, if they suffered a violent father, the beatings stopped. The name- calling stopped. The emotional abuse stopped, if they were given to their mothers as to custody.

Since the seventies, U.S. divorce rates have held steady at 50 to 55 percent for all marriages. When half the kids arrive in our society from divorces, we're looking at a whole of anger, insecurity, confusion and lack of trust.  Little wonder those kids find some kind of community in their cell phones that they stare into 7 hours and 22 minutes daily.

Back in the 1970's, when we started paying minority women to birth as many children as possible under WIC, ADIC and other monetary incentives—we discovered 7 out of 10 single mothers with no fathers to bring stability to their children.  I'll never forget when I picked up a copy of the Detroit Free Press 40 years ago to see one woman birthed her 24th child…all by various different men. She made a fortune in welfare payments and "free" housing.  At the time, I worked 15 hour days with United Van Lines. My tax dollars paid for her life and her children's lives. Can imagine how destructive that welfare became for minority families? Of course, I would not trade places with such insanity or the misery of bringing up 24 children without a father.

Okay, I grew up with a peaceful father and mother.  My dad said, "Education first, sports second."  He expected that his kids do well in school in order to play sports.  Best choice EVER for my siblings and me.  This society demands you become an educated and critically thinking contributor to America's ongoing success.  

If you do poorly in high school, you most likely will do poorly in life. Note that 45 million Americans subsist on food stamps. Notice that 770,000 Americans live homeless lives. Note that 42 million Americans cannot read, write or perform simple math problems. It's called, "Functional Illiteracy."  In other words, all those people live useless lives, hopeless lives, unfulfilled lives. Also, they do not contribute to our society. They drain it, degrade it, and bankrupt it.

Additionally, the lack of fathers means lack of discipline in homes. Lack of fathers means "role modeling" vanishes for those children in fatherless homes.  Consequences? How about $100 billion in shoplifting in America annually? How's that for lack of morality, ethics and self-esteem?  Without fathers' guidance, just go out and steal whatever you want.

Back to my father!  After work, our dad brought us down to the baseball field where he taught us to pitch, catch and hit. He guided us to do our best in athletic competition. He talked about sportsmanship and what it was to respect our opponents on the other teams.  He umpired, and our mother ran the concession stand. Whether we won or lost, he stood by us, supported us, and taught us how to be good men.

While life took him way from our family when I was seventeen,  it could not erase his powerful impact on me becoming a good man.  I've worked my whole life to contribute to America like millions of other men and women. We're the ones that make America successful, peaceful and viable. I've said it many times: personal accountability and personal responsibility. If all our citizens abided by those two ideas—what a fantastic society we would enjoy.

WE NEED FATHERS TO GUIDE OUR BOYS AND GIRLS 

"On Father's Day, Americans reflect on the role that fathers play in children's lives, some are warning that a decline in community involvement is leaving young people vulnerable to bad influences. As traditional networks of mentors fade, many children are turning to social media for guidance.

"King Randall, founder of the mentorship organization The X for Boys, and The X for Boys Life Preparatory School in Albany, Ga., believes the problem extends beyond fatherlessness, and lies in the movement away from community. The father and professional mentor, who teaches children through real-world lessons and life skills training, argues that by pulling away from a "village" mentality, social media and technology have been left to fill the void created by absent role models."

At some point, we need parents go guide their children as to social media.  We need to get cell phones OUT OF SCHOOL CLASSROOMS.  "Living" on a cell phone for 7 hours 22 minutes a day for the average teenager remains one of the worst addictions in the world. It screws up a child's ability to converse with others, to think on his or her own, to engage in physical activity, eat wholesome foods, and corrupts critical thinking.

"Without these in-person role models and with busy parents, children and teens are turning to social media for guidance, according to Randall. He said that parents have started using phones, tablets and other devices as "pacifiers" and are ultimately "losing their child" by letting technology raise their kids."

We need fathers and mothers to set boundaries for their kids as to cell phone usage. We need to instill self-esteem, self-appreciation and a sense of exploration into our children.  Moms and dads need to communicate, guide and "Shepard" their children toward living productive lives that lead toward a better American society.

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