If Fathers are Removed From Society, How Can Anyone Understand Authority?
Is Fatherhood Being Killed so the State Can Play God?
- Kelly OConnell (
Bio and Archives)
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/52852
Is there a master plan for the subjugation of the human race? If so,
it must perforce include a strategy for the removal of the single most
influential figure in history—the Father. Complete sabotage of families
and marriage would also be necessary to pull off this coup. From a
purely secular standpoint, the health of a society can be measured by
the vitality of fatherhood, according to relevant statistics. More
importantly, the health of a society can be best measured from its
ability to grasp the concept of God, the Father. For example, a society
which merely accepts the God concept without differentiating between the
elements of the Trinity is devolving towards paganism. But who would
desire such a purge?
Trenchantly, Jim Sheridan—director of the
academy-award-winning “In the Name of the Father”—once stated, “If you
want to destroy a society, remove the fathers.” The presence and
activity of dads in a culture is so important that they cannot be
removed without precipitating collapse, according to David Popenoe in
Fathers, Marriage, and Children in American Society.
Statistics clearly illustrate this claim. America is now increasingly
fatherless. Popular sentiment, along with social engineering, academic
pseudo-scholarship, and religious heresy all add to an unprecedented
assault upon marriage and fatherhood. From a biblical viewpoint, this
assault on the Father is a challenge upon the very structure of the
universe and creation—whereas the Father initiated creation, carried out
by His Son and Spirit. Marriage, as a symbol of the relationship
between Christ and His Church, is made superfluous when Christianity no
longer sets the mores of a society—as has evolved in America today.
The
New York Times recently reported
that 50% of American children born to women 30 and under, are now
out-of-wedlock. From a practical viewpoint, a world without fathers is
rudderless, lacking principled leadership, at the whim of every passing
fancy of the academy or elites. More ominously, such a society must be
directed by a power-driven political cabal, where government becomes the
head of every home, and political doctrines take the place of creed and
code. Such a land will be a tyranny, where humans are merely pawns in
the machinations of the deified state.
I. Fatherhood Assassinated
Children, by definition, are vulnerable. They must receive defense
from within the family unit, or they become extreme risks to predators
and lack of instruction. The nuclear family contains a default structure
designed to protect, feed, educate, motivate and enable children to
successfully move into the adult world. This default structure was
traditionally implemented by the parents, directed by the father. This
structure has operated successfully since time immemorial. Recently,
though, fatherhood has come under tremendous scrutiny and the entire
premise of masculine, leadership has been rejected by many elites. In
fact, it is the political and scientific opinion of many that
masculinity has had a negative impact on the evolution of mankind. And
so the institution of fatherhood has been systematically singled out for
destruction.
Popenoe then explains how being a dad has been trashed in our culture:
FATHERHOOD IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE
The end result of the many cultural, social, and economic trends we
have discussed is a society surprisingly unsupportive of fatherhood.
Indeed, if one were specifically to design a culture and a social system
for the express purpose of undercutting fatherhood and men’s
contribution to family life, our current society would be close to what
would result. Consider the following key elements one would want to
incorporate:
- Make marriage into a very weak institution..
- Sexualize the society.
- Institute an educational system that disregards the fact that
childrearing is a major adult responsibility and that marriage is
important in childrearing.
- Have an education system that does not recognize worker’s family
responsibilities and that stresses ever-increasing material consumption.
- Develop a culture that heavily stresses individualism.
- In social discourse, through the media, and in the design of the
built environment, deemphasize the importance of children to the
continuation of society.
- Overlook the importance of fathering when discussing male gender roles.
- When fathering is discussed, don’t mention that fathers are unique
and irreplaceable as protectors, challengers, disciplinarians and
guides. 
If no person can be conceived without the work of a father, why does
modern society insist on pretending fathers are irrelevant? Further, in a
society where masculinity is regularly trashed, what generic definition
and value does fatherhood hold? In a world of maternal values, doesn’t
the entire list of positive masculine traits get tossed in the trash? So
if fatherhood has been murdered, who killed it and why?
II. Effects of Fatherlessness
A. Search for Identity
According to Guy Corneau, in
Absent Fathers, Lost Sons—one of the most predictable and disturbing effects of fatherless sons is the lack of a strong male identity. Corneau writes,
Sons who have not been given adequate fathering are often
faced with the following problems: in their teenage years they
experience confusion about their sexual identity and adopt feminine
types of behavior; their sense of self-esteem is unsteady; they repress
their aggression, their ambition and their inquisitiveness. Some of them
may suffer inhibitions as regards their sexuality. They may also
exhibit learning problems. They have trouble respecting moral values and
accepting responsibilities; they have little sense of duty or
obligation to others. Their insufficient internal structure results in a
certain laxity, a lack of rigor, a general inability to organize their
lives effectively. In addition, research shows they are more likely to
be homosexuals than are boys whose fathers are sufficiently present.
Inadequately fathered sons are also more likely to develop psychological
problems that manifest as juvenile delinquency and abuse of drugs and
alcohol. All such behaviors are rooted in deep revolt against
patriarchal society. The revolt mirrors to the father the consequences
of his absence.
B. Homosexual Genesis?
As mentioned by Corneau, much research indicates that the lack of a
male role model for boys is a source of homosexual orientation. In fact,
no hard science has ever been delivered
to prove individuals are born homosexual. Instead, the cause appears to
be environmental, especially as regards the relationship with their
father, for gay males.
Irving Bieber believed homosexuality was caused by a too-close mother and a too-distant father:
Bieber believed that a “constructive, supportive, warmly
related father precludes the possibility of a homosexual son; he acts as
a neutralizing, protective agent should the mother make seductive or
close-binding attempts.”
Not surprisingly, the
shattering experience of child sexual abuse can lead some to homosexual orientation,
according to one source, which described a study on AIDS:
The study lasted for four years and included a total
of 4244 men. To ascertain if an individual had a history of childhood
sexual abuse they were asked on entry to the study to say if they had
had a sexual experience before the age of 13 with an individual five
years or more older than themselves; and/or if they had a sexual
experience between the ages of 13 and 17 with an individual who was ten
or more years older.
Of the 4244 individuals in the study, 1686 (40%) reported
childhood sexual abuse. There were 258 HIV infections during the course
of the study, a rate of 2.1 per 100 person years.
While the cause of homosexuality is bound to be long debated,
an unusual set of statistics
have emerged from the coming trend towards adoption for gay couples.
The statistics show that homosexual parenting appears to lead to a
ten-to-twenty times increase in their children living as an adult
homosexual. So for instance, while about 3% of Americans identify as
gay—35% of the kids of gay male couples will live as homosexual; whereas
almost 60% of the children of lesbians live as adult homosexuals.
C. A World Without Private Human Authority
Some point out it is a tenet of Marxism that all individual
authority, especially that of the family and religion, must be
sacrificed so the state can be built up. For example, the leftist Nazis
viewed procreation as the concern of the state. A
statement putting 45 Goals of Communism into the US Congressional record in 1963 would seem to verify the need for the family to be controlled. Here are a few:
Current Communist Goals EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A.
S. HERLONG, JR. OF FL. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, January
10, 1963.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative
influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding
of children to suppressive influence of parents.
(Communist Goals (1963) Congressional Record—Appendix, pp. A34-A35 January 10, 1963)
What better way for state power to be established than for the American family to simply be dismembered?
III. Marriage, Out-of-Wedlock Births & Divorce
Popenoe points out the two main reasons for fatherless children are
the very high rate of divorce, and the growing trend of out-of-wedlock
births. For example, in the African American community, chances are
around 93% that children will grow up without a father for at least part
of their childhood.
Sadly, studies show that most fathers lose contact with their
children after divorce, as men strongly connect childrearing with
cohabiting with the mother. And most children with divorced fathers will
eventually have no contact with their natural fathers. In fact, 60% of
fathers never see their children after divorce, or just a few times a
year. And most dads never pay any bills beyond their child support,
which averages a paltry $3,155 a year.
Nonmarital births and adoptions add to the statistics of the
fatherless. These are children who will probably never know their
fathers. When even celebrity “conservatives” like
Laura Ingraham adopt children as unmarried parents, you know the problem is out of hand.
Cohabitation is not the panacea some believe, either. Interestingly,
Jay Teachman’s study
of the number of sexual partners and risk for divorce showed a high
correlation for a lower number of partners and marital success. For
example, virgin brides had very low divorce rates: “women who are
sexually active prior to marriage faced considerably higher risk of
marital disruption than women who were virgin brides.” But cohabitation
is a negative way to test a potential spouse:
In fact, Professor Jay Teachman explains that one of the
most “robust predictors of marital dissolution that has appeared in the
literature” is cohabitation itself, making living together actually one
of the worst things you can do for your marriage, rather than something to help it.
IV. Attack on Fathers as Revolt Against God
Briefly, if one views the Father as an essential element of the
Christian godhead—as Christ apparently did when he delivered the Lord’s
Prayer: Our Father Who Art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name…(
Matthew 6:9-13)—then
to attack Fatherhood is to reject God. This is certainly occurring as
the same critics lambasting fathers are also furious rejecters of the
biblical way. Eric Voegelin, in
Science, Politics & Gnosticism,
trenchantly pointed out that the assault against God described by
Nietzsche was really just an attempt to bury mankind’s sins by deicide,
or killing God:
The madman is therefore looking for man, but not the man
of the philosopher: he is looking for the being that springs from the
magic of the murder of God…Man cannot transform himself into a superman:
the attempt to create a superman is an attempt to murder man.
Historically, the murder of God is not followed by the superman, but by
the murder of man…
Conclusion
If fathers have to be removed before a tyranny is established,
America is well on the way. Note the following statistics to understand
what grave danger America now is in regarding the loss of fathers. To
reject fathers is to reject our historic Western approach to life. What
follows can only be the bloodbath of liberty first, followed by humans,
later.
Post-Script: Statistics of the Fatherless
A. Poverty:
Children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor.
In 2002, 7.8% of children in married-couple families were living in
poverty, compared to 38.4% of children in mother-only household
families.
During the year before their babies were born, 43% of unmarried
mothers received welfare or food stamps, 21% received some type of
housing subsidy, and 9% received another type of government transfer
(unemployment insurance etc.). For women who have another child, the
proportion who receives welfare or food stamps rises to 54%.
A child with a nonresident father is 54 percent more likely to be poorer than his or her father.
B. Fatherless Physical Abuse
Compared to peers living with both parents, kids in single parent homes had:
- a 77% greater risk of being physically abused
- an 87% greater risk of being harmed by physical neglect
- a 165% greater risk of experiencing notable physical neglect
- a 74% greater risk of suffering from emotional neglect
- an 80% greater risk of suffering serious injury as a result of abuse
- overall, a 120% greater risk of being endangered by some type of child
- 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes, 5 times the average.
- 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes, 32 times the average.
- 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes; 20 times the average;
- 80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes, 14 times the average;
- 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes, 9 times the average;
- 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes, 10 times the average;
- 70% of youths in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes, 9 times the average;
- 85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes, 20 times the average.
- Adolescents from single-parent families engage in greater and earlier sexual activity.
- Fatherless children are at much higher risk of drug and alcohol
abuse, mental illness, suicide, poor educational performance, teen
pregnancy, and criminality.
- Most abused children come from fatherless homes; only 1/3 abused kids lived with both biological parents.
- 50% of child abuse cases are committed by single mothers.
- Fatherless children are at dramatically greater risk of suicide..
- Fatherless boys have much more trouble establishing appropriate sex roles and gender identity.
- 80% of youth psychiatric patients are from fatherless homes.
- Fatherless children are less cooperative and score lower on IQ tests.
- Fatherless kids exhibit significantly more conduct problems, and daughters have higher rates of anxiety or depression.
- “Father hunger” often afflicts boys age 1-2 whose fathers are
suddenly and permanently absent. Sleep disturbances, nightmares/ night
terrors frequently begin within one to three months after the father
leaves home.
- Children of never-married mothers are more than twice as likely to have been treated for an emotional or behavioral problem.
- Fatherless children are more likely to have been expelled or
suspended from school, to display emotional problems, and to engage in
antisocial behavior.
- Researchers observed “greater levels of aggression in boys from
mother-only households than from boys in mother-father households.”
- 80% of adolescents in psychiatric hospitals come from broken homes.
- Violent school kids are 11 times more likely to live without their fathers and six times more likely to have unmarried parents.
- 43% of prison inmates are fatherless; 14% lived in households
without either biological parent; and 14% spent some of their childhood
in a foster home, agency or other juvenile institution.
- 72% of adolescent murderers grew up without fathers; 60% of America’s rapists grew up the same way.
- Only 13% of juvenile delinquents come from families in which the
biological mother and father are married to each other. By contract, 33%
have parents who are either divorced or separated and 44% have parents
who were never married.
- Fatherless teenage boys are more likely to be incarcerated for
delinquent offenses and also manifest worse conduct while incarcerated.
- 70% of juveniles in state reform institutions grew up fatherless.
- Fatherless males engage in twice as much criminal activity, which
triples if their neighborhood has a high concentration of single-parent
families.
Kelly O’Connell hosts American Anthem on
CFP Radio Sundays at 4 pm (EST).
Kelly O’Connell is an author
and attorney. He was born on the West Coast, raised in Las Vegas, and
matriculated from the University of Oregon. After laboring for the
Reformed Church in Galway, Ireland, he returned to America and attended
law school in Virginia, where he earned a JD and a Master’s degree in
Government. He spent a stint working as a researcher and writer of
academic articles at a Miami law school, focusing on ancient law and
society. He has also been employed as a university Speech & Debate
professor. He then returned West and worked as an assistant district
attorney. Kelly is now is a private practitioner with a small law
practice in New Mexico. Kelly is now host of a daily, Monday to Friday
talk show at AM KOBE called
AM Las Cruces w/Kelly O’Connell
Kelly can be reached at:
hibernian1@gmail.com
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