About Father's Day

Soon it will be Father's Day; the third Sunday in June, declared a recognized day of national observance in 1972 by President Richard Nixon. Considering there's approximately 64.3 million fathers in the united states, can there be a paradigm of perfection for fatherhood? It's not always easy to separate fathers from dads; after all television & other media have set standards ranging from the remarkable dad who wore a tie while relaxing in his easy chair after work to the profound underemployed, social inept dud, but nevertheless a paternal commemoration should not go unnoticed.

George Washington was our first President who led the colonists in the Revolutionary War, helped the original 13 colonies gain independence from Britain & was widely known for his determination while leading our young country to freedom. he always down played his stature as President & served his country all the days of his adult life. As for having kids of his own, George Washington had none, although he did help raise two of Martha's kids from her first marriage as well as two of her grandchildren. Still he's been recognized as the sister of our country; his accomplishments & achievements surely would have been celebrated by an exceptional Hallmark moment.

hasty forward to the twentieth century when television idealized the typical sister of the 1950's. James Anderson in sister Knows Best epitomized the easy humor & wisdom of a most benevolent gentleman. Ask Betty, Bud or Kitten, the kids of the perfect relatives growing up in the time when sass didn't exist. Much the same could be said for Ward Cleaver in Leave It To Beaver when he calmly solved every problem for Wally & Theodore; kid problems not totally unlike today's issues, but certainly addressed at the time in a world without the web or text messaging. Even single dad, Ben Cartwright of Bonanza kept careful vigil over his three grown sons, Adam, Hoss & Little Joe. The 1000 acre Ponderosa served as a moral backdrop for such social problems ranging from animal cruelty, physically challenged adults & kids & even the homeless with Ben always demonstrating great humanity & generosity as a constant example of his high ethical standards.

During the 1960's the social changes emerged with such sister figures as Archie Bunker in All In the relatives not very what socially progressive son-in-law Michael, aka Meathead, could tolerate. It provided viewers with a sharp contrast of previous dads like Andy Griffith to Opie on The Andy Griffith Show & now turned the attention to bigotry, ignorance & insults, a paternal characteristic never before seen on tv. Not following far behind came Homer of The Simpsons, showing a dad as a perpetual underachiever & poor role model.

More contemporary television has taken both sides of the economics while still portraying sister figures. Dan Connor of Roseanne always had a cold beer in the refrigerator; was occasionally unemployed, yet he was home every evening for dinner with the three kids, the sister-in-law, the misfit boyfriends & Roseanne. In sharp contrast & before President Obama ever thought of walking for office, Heathcliff Huxtable, of The Cosby Show showcased the successful & affluent physician & his attorney wife in an African American relatives patiently & humorously raising one kids in a fashionable Manhattan neighborhood.

All in all, our concept of nice dads & bad dads may not be defined by television, but by our own definitions & how our dads treat us or helped us. Nevertheless, congratulations to the nice ones; & to the bad ones; here's hoping you can become a nice dad; our futures depend on you.