Parade Magazine posted President-Elect Obama’s letter

President-elect Barack Obama wrote a letter to his daughters which was published today by Parade Magazine online.  Here is the link:

http://www.parade.com/news/2009/01/barack-obama-letter-to-my-daughters.html

Next Tuesday Obama will be sworn in as America’s 44th President.

The part of the letter that really rings a chord with me is when he talks about being a young man, and how self-centered he was.  He thought, “life was all about me.”  He then goes on to explain that “all of that changed when I had you.”  I completely agree.  My own experience with fatherhood has had the same effect on me.  I used to think about myself most of the time, and since having kids I realize that I get my own satisfaction from them.

Having children really gives you a sense of community, and it makes you want to right wrongs that you never cared about before.  I used to mostly ignore bad circumstances and injustice in the past, especially if it really didn’t affect me personally.  But now that I have children, I am much more vigilant in ensuring what’s right, because injustice might affect my kids.  Being a father heightens your awareness of what’s going on in society, and it sharpens your sensitivity to right and wrong. 

That’s why it’s so important for children to have an involved and loving father.  They are vulnerable to life.  The good and the bad.  I think of all the potentially bad situations I have been in, throughout my life.  I am thankful for having loving parents who gave me a strong moral compass.  For the most part I came away unscathed, and I attribute that to good fortune and having a strong sense of right and wrong along with a code of personal responsibility.  Then I think about my kids and how they haven’t even started yet.  I feel a strong responsibility to prepare them to do the right things and make the right decisions.  Without an involved father, who is there along with the mother to guide and teach the child, that child’s chances of making the right choices is greatly reduced.  Just take a look at our “statistics” tab on the main www.dadsworld.com page.

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