Father’s Day is for Winners

[June 15, 2025]  On this Father’s Day, we should correctly respect the men who are fathers to their children.   Fathers and father figures in our lives show us that masculinity means being a strong and uncompromising protector of the family and the community.  They show us by their words and actions that the value of respecting loved ones, defending truth and justice, and life itself is of monumental importance.  One act of kindness and respect is to spend time with your family.  Doing so, will provide that irreplaceable time we desperately need to form the social bond of human togetherness.

This passage from the Bible, Proverbs 20:7, has a cautious meaning regarding fathers. It says that the man of pure life, who performs his duty toward God and all peoples, brings a blessing upon himself and his family, but specifically upon his children who follow his good example. Both during his life and after his death, the virtue of the good man (and father) speaks and acts from wise experience, and he is satisfied with his family.

Fathers are often the forgotten champions of the American family, yet none would be complete without them.  Thank you to all fathers for the hard work you do to support, protect, and be an example to your children and grandchildren.  Thank you, above all, for accepting your role as a father – a difficult task in our society that belittles the vocation through rampant abortion on demand and talk of toxic masculinity.

Respected kinfolk are those who are fair and willing to share the good times and the hardships of others. Family time with the father is good, practical, and necessary for those of us who want to be judged as authentic, respected, and valuable members of the family.

We’ve all seen it happen: a family is harmed by divorce, a family experiences a tragic death, or an elderly grandparent falls ill with cancer. When the going gets tough, people must rely on their family to achieve something important. When there is a strong social connection, this becomes easy.  And when the father builds those strong bonds, the family stands tall.

During World War II, U.S. Army General Omar Bradley was said to be “The Soldier’s General.”  He was modest, industrious, above reproach, and a skilled tactician. The bond General Bradley had with “his” men was well-known and, according to his autobiography, was the main reason for his achievements as a military officer.  Fathers are by design, those who are like Omar Bradley, maybe not a General but a leader for his family.

If a family is under stress and there is a weak bond, there are risks of familial collapse that tend to destroy the family’s stability. Like the old saying about Mr. Murphy; “If anything can go wrong, it will.”   There is a Murphy’s Law corollary that says that this will also happen at the most inopportune time.

Adults in the family are subject to these rules as any person. You don’t often need to go far to see them put this good habit into their schedule. They eat with their family and they do those things that bring themselves into frequent contact with them. What this means is to share their hardships, their defeats, and their victories as well.

Being a good man means being a real father dedicated to your family.  That means that Father’s Day is for winners.

————

Please read my books:

1. “55 Rules for a Good Life,” on Amazon (link here).
2. “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon (link here).