All fathers matter: Happy Father's Day

By Silvio Canto, Jr.

2020 marks the 5th Father's Day since my dad died in late 2015. It's my day to remember a great man who taught me about life and where we came from. He also taught me how treat women and behave properly at work, at home or the baseball field.

My father was quiet, a super gentleman but he laid down the law very effectively. He knew what was right and wrong and did not accept excuses for bad behavior.

Yesterday, I read that more statues came down, from President Grant to President Lincoln. They want President Jefferson, too.

What's the formula or the method to their madness? I can't really find one but all of the mobs have a common denominator, i.e. young people who could use a little a history lesson and a man in their lives!

In this context, maybe it's time to remind everyone that fathers matter a lot. After all, it is our fathers who teach us about our heritage, where we came from and that you don't destroy public property.

According to a Heritage Foundation report, we needs more fathers in the country:

Studies have found that children raised without a father are:

At a higher risk of having behavioral problems.

Four times more likely to live in poverty.

More likely to be incarcerated in their lifetime.

Twice as likely to never graduate high school.

At a seven times higher risk of teen pregnancy.

More vulnerable to abuse and neglect.

More likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.

Twice as likely to be obese.

From education to personal health to career success, children who lack a father find themselves at a disadvantage to their peers raised in a two-parent household.

I can't prove it with a poll but my guess is that a lot of those young people burning buildings and tearing down statues do not have a father to come home to.

How do I know that? Because my dad would beaten me with a baseball bat if I had done something stupid like that. He would have grabbed me by the neck, read me a Cuban Spanish riot act that only Ricky Ricardo could understand and then driven me to the police station for accountability.

Yes, fathers matter a lot. Happy Father's Day to the AT family.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

Image credit: Cornell University, via Wikimedia Commons // public domain