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Real Answers™
jj125
Copyright: ©2008 James J. Jackson
700 words

GOVERNMENT FAILS THE 'FATHER TEST'

By: James J. Jackson

We are often told nearly one third of young Black men are either in jail or on parole/probation and are more likely to become involved in drugs and crime than other ethnicities.  The school drop out rate for Blacks is triple that of Whites.  Blacks are more likely to live in poverty.  What sad statistics!  Where are the leaders?   Where are the fathers?

The incessant cry of racism arises even when the police officer, judge, prosecutor, etc. is a minority.  There seems to be a belief that once a minority achieves a position of authority, they no longer qualify as Black.  The sad truth is that most societal problems in the Black community are the direct result of failed social programs like cradle to grave welfare.  Many young Blacks lost their anchor when their main role model-the father- was removed from the home. Government programs cannot replace such a vital part of a child’s life.  A working father cannot get assistance for his family, but his family qualifies in his absence. Therefore, the government becomes the father.  Impossible.

Black children today glorify rap stars, film stars and gangsters.  Few adults will take a stand and declare the miscreant actions of these ‘idols’ to be wrong.  Fads become dangerous mandates.  Kids kill others for designer jackets and shoes.  Children who display bad attitudes, assault teachers and others and skip class are revered as heroes. Delinquent behavior is often defended by parents, especially from single parent homes.  Black leaders tell us that such kids are victims of ‘remnants of slavery’.

Beginning when they are very young, kids need to be taught that if they choose partake of violence and drugs, the consequences will limit their ability to accomplish anything of value, and they may lose their freedom and any semblance of quality of life, or life itself.  They should be told that dropping out of school cancels opportunities for good jobs, a college education, etc., and locks them into a life of poverty.  Instead, numerous advocates and government programs are there to lower the fence for school admission, jobs, housing, etc. in order to help them to avoid the consequences of their actions. 

We have ‘stop smoking’ and environmental efforts to warn kids of the dangers of smoking, not caring for the earth, etc.  Schools conduct programs to help children in internalize and take ownership of whatever the cause happens to be.  We need a national movement to begin teaching children the cause-effect of their life choices, and the rewards of seeking excellence. 

The long-running War on Poverty has been an abject failure because it sought to re-structure the family by replacing a vital part of it, the father, with the government.  Government is incapable of seeing to the individual needs of children, and can only create ‘cookie-cutter’ programs designed to fit everyone into narrow parameters.  Anyone who falls outside those parameters is simply lost.

Since the War on Poverty had no element of client responsibility included, and no element of expectation that its clients would have any incentive to seek excellence, the checks dispersed through these programs simply locked generation after generation into a deadly cycle of poverty. After many years of failure, we reluctantly developed a ‘workfare’ concept, whereby the client would be required to work a minimum number of hours or earn a minimal amount of their subsistence in order to qualify for assistance, and the only for a limited time.

Until we begin to hold people accountable for their actions, instead of rewarding bad behavior with 'victim' status and programs that bail people out of the consequences of bad life choices, we can only expect to see more young Blacks and others continue down the road to failure and the resulting lives of poverty. 
 
Fathers have largely abdicated their responsibility, leaving children at the mercy of government and others.  The Bible tells fathers to obey God‘s laws and to,  “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Government’s grade in fatherhood?  Failure.  Don’t let that be your fatherhood grade!

"Real Answers™" furnished courtesy of The Amy Foundation Internet Syndicate. To contact the author or The Amy Foundation, write or E-mail to: P. O. Box 16091, Lansing, MI 48901-6091; amyfoundtn@aol.com

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