There is something that has bothered me in the media for some time now - fathers are portrayed as dumb.
From my own experience, that is far from the truth. My dad, and the men in my life are driven, brilliant, and compassionate gentleman.
Yes, we have men in this world who act like boys and never grow up. We have men who mistreat women and children in their life as a power complex. The reason we know of them is because they are on the news every night.
My thesis is that the abnormal is becoming normal because of expectations. What do I mean you ask?
If you expect the best from your children, do they rise to the occasion? Yes, there are anomalies, but for the most part they do.
Each of us works to the expectations we have of ourselves, and the expectations of others. We are products of what we see, hear, and read.
I believe we think fathers are dumb because that is what we hear. I believe fathers hear they are dumb, and expect their kids to treat them as such - they do little to curb the expectations.
We have the reality of weak gentleman, and rowdy children because there is no stone to stand upon. Children wonder where their boundaries are and wander into discouragement because there is no knight standing guard beside them.
I refuse to believe that men are naturally dumb, and relegated to playing video games or working at a job they hate all their life.
It is not the reality I have grown up with, and the fruit in my family is testament to what expectations produce.
If we want a different picture then we must plant different seeds for the harvest.
