Kudos to President Obama

I don’t agree with President Obama very often. His idea that it is the federal government’s job to provide healthcare for everyone is certainly a point of disagreement. His idea that it is government’s job to “spread the wealth around” is another point of disagreement. In spite of strong, serious disagreements with the man, I recently read a quotation of our president that made me want to give him a standing ovation.

In a recent article on Time.com, entitled Is there Hope for the American Marriage?, author Caitlin Flanagan quoted our president. She stated that Obama, like Bush and Clinton before him, holds strong views of supporting marriage. This is likely due to mounting evidence that divorce generally harms children. Divorce always disrupts the relationship of children with their parents to some degree. It often disrupts the relationship of fathers with their children profoundly. Here is what she said Barack Obama said regarding the need of fathers in the lives of children: "We need fathers to step up, to realize that their job does not end at conception; that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one."

It is true that many fathers choose not to be involved in their children’s lives after divorce. Sometimes that diminished involvement is chosen for them. That is, many mothers do not want anything to do with the father of their children, and therefore, assume that their children feel the same or will come to feel the same in time. We really need mothers and fathers that will work at being husbands and wives. We need couples who realize that their real task begins after the wedding, after the honeymoon. And they must have the courage and skills to build a strong marriage. Sometimes, they need the humility to admit that they don’t have the skills necessary to do this.