During my teen years, which is a time when so many young girls feel ugly, fat and awkward, I felt beautiful. It was not something I thought. It was something I felt. Elizabeth Taylor was, to my young mind, the undisputed Queen of Beauty and yet I, bearing absolutely no resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor, felt beautiful.
I have contemplated this phenomenon, and have come to realize that my earliest memories include my father's voice, and the words which come back are "Aren't you Daddy's pretty little girl?"... "Daddy's smart little girl"... "Daddy's good little girl"... "Daddy's little girl is so beautiful,"..."so beautiful"..."so beautiful".... Can anyone question why I was vastly less at risk than most of feeling ugly, undesirable or of no value during those fragile years? In today's world, father's role has been devalued to the degree that he is considered by many to be superfluous once the essential conception has taken place. The tragedy of this miscalculation is manifest in every courtroom and jail in our nation. Fathers, real fathers, are simply not expendable.
Of all the societal damage which has resulted from the Feminist movement, respect for fatherhood has suffered most, and the resulting loss is surely the most tragic and far reaching. Little girls and boys need their fathers' approbation to keep them stable, to help them to know how a real man behaves, a real man who loves and reveres his own wife, his girls and his boys, a real man who will work and sacrifice to whatever degree necessary to protect and provide for this little group of humans for whom he is responsible.
Dad, is your little girl beautiful? Good? Sweet? Smart? Brave? Capable? Does she know that? She needs the shield that only you can give her before she leaves the nest and heads out to do battle with the world. Is your young son strong? Courageous? Tenacious? A fighter when he believes he is right? Does he know these are virtues? Will he be willing to pay the price of real manhood when he arrives at the gate or will he be more inclined to take a detour which will leave him lost to society, wandering aimlessly for months, years, or worse, decades. He needs you to lead the way to true manhood, Dad. He may not find it without you.
If a Dad teaches his sons and daughters that they are of great value, they are of value indeed. If he does not, many of them will never be really sure.
I have contemplated this phenomenon, and have come to realize that my earliest memories include my father's voice, and the words which come back are "Aren't you Daddy's pretty little girl?"... "Daddy's smart little girl"... "Daddy's good little girl"... "Daddy's little girl is so beautiful,"..."so beautiful"..."so beautiful".... Can anyone question why I was vastly less at risk than most of feeling ugly, undesirable or of no value during those fragile years? In today's world, father's role has been devalued to the degree that he is considered by many to be superfluous once the essential conception has taken place. The tragedy of this miscalculation is manifest in every courtroom and jail in our nation. Fathers, real fathers, are simply not expendable.
Of all the societal damage which has resulted from the Feminist movement, respect for fatherhood has suffered most, and the resulting loss is surely the most tragic and far reaching. Little girls and boys need their fathers' approbation to keep them stable, to help them to know how a real man behaves, a real man who loves and reveres his own wife, his girls and his boys, a real man who will work and sacrifice to whatever degree necessary to protect and provide for this little group of humans for whom he is responsible.
Dad, is your little girl beautiful? Good? Sweet? Smart? Brave? Capable? Does she know that? She needs the shield that only you can give her before she leaves the nest and heads out to do battle with the world. Is your young son strong? Courageous? Tenacious? A fighter when he believes he is right? Does he know these are virtues? Will he be willing to pay the price of real manhood when he arrives at the gate or will he be more inclined to take a detour which will leave him lost to society, wandering aimlessly for months, years, or worse, decades. He needs you to lead the way to true manhood, Dad. He may not find it without you.
If a Dad teaches his sons and daughters that they are of great value, they are of value indeed. If he does not, many of them will never be really sure.
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