Happy Father’s Day!

I wanted to take a moment to congratulate all of you Dads out there.  I hope you are having a great day, and spent time with your family.

I woke up around 7 am, as usual, and went downstairs to prepare for an interview on KXL radio at 7:40am.  The interview was a live, 5 minute discussion about Dadsworld.com and it went well.  Tim Thompson from KXL has a 3 year old and a new baby, so he is in a similar situation as myself.  We had a nice talk and I got to expand a little on what Dadsworld.com offers and is all about. 

As with all of the interviews I have done though, I didn’t really have enough time to expand on what the big picture for Dadsworld.com is, and what I am really trying to do.  I will expand a lot more in my book and share a few points here.

Dadsworld.com is really committed to changing the negative image of Dads in pop-culture and ultimately; strengthen families.  The overall mission is really two-fold.  1- Promote to the rest of the world those Dads who are already doing a great job.  Hold them up as examples and hero’s for others to emulate.  2- Encourage those who are not yet Dads, or those that are Dads but not spending enough time with their families to get their priorities straight.  As Calvin Coolidge said, “to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligation.”

It is very obvious for anyone who has looked at the statistics that one of the biggest problems our country has is the growing trend of fragmented families.  Broken families lead to an array of problems, including drug abuse, physical abuse, suicide, illegitimate children, depression, violence, self-esteem problems, low income, low education, higher crime, etc.  All of these are traceable back to a broken home. 

The only way to save America, in my opinion, is to get back to the strong and loving family unit as the driving force in our culture.  The family is the best educator and installer of the moral compass for our children. 

Currently, we have a shock culture.  There are so many voices competing for our attention that we only notice the most outrageous and shocking stories.  Over time, this has become “normal” and accepted.  That wouldn’t bother me so much if it wasn’t at the expense of the family.  Studies show that the traditional family values this country was built on are becoming less and less practiced.  We have increasingly become a society of selfish individuals with little or no regard for anyone else, let alone the future generations.  Morals and integrity are becoming antiquated, replaced by greed and a win-lose philosophy.  As any historian will tell you, that attitude is fatal to any society.  We cannot permit this “anything goes” attitude to become the standard, yet we are close to that right now.

Think for a moment about values, family, morals, traditions, ethics, kindness, selflessness, compassion, empathy and integrity.  Do you see these concepts being shown on your local news station very often?  How about in the movies, in print media?  What about in song lyrics? 

What are the concepts that are being “promoted”?  “I don’t care about you as long as I get mine.”  “Ethics are fine, until the money gets to be too great to resist.”  “Who has time to be kind.”  “I’m too important to be bothered by the less fortunate,” etc.

Dadsworld.com is committed to helping make a difference.  Start by creating a strong, loving family.  Teach your kids values through your own actions.  Cherish and appreciate the rights and views of others.  Use common sense in all situations and abide by the golden rule.  Get educated.  There is no substitute for knowledge.

And the last thing I would like to point out is to be vigilant.  Don’t tolerate abusive behavior or let negative people bully good people.  Stand up for what’s right.  Let’s take our country to a higher level.  We are all on the same team here, so let’s start spending a little more time on what’s good and decent.  Spend a little less time on the foolish and outrageous. 

The best way to help others is to improve ourselve’s.  It starts with us.  From now on, be a little kinder, a little more patient, a little less critical and a little more supportive.  We really can do small things that will add up to big differences.

Tags: , america, broken home, calvin coolidge, compassion, dad, ethics, family, fathers day, fragmented family, golden rule, greed, honesty, integrity, mom, morals, parent