
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994                    TAG: 9406170032 
SECTION: COMMENTARY                     PAGE: J4    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: Medium 
DATELINE: 940619                                 LENGTH:

ONE OF THE BEST ROLE MODELS A CHILD CAN HAVE\

{LEAD} Alexis de Toqueville, the great French observer of the American experiment, noted that the American father did not seem to enjoy quite the same level of respect as his European counterpart, either from his family or society at large. Indeed, in popular drama, Dad is often depicted as a somewhat bumbling figure of fun, even if he did supposedly ``know best.'' But there remains a great deal of affection for Dad, and for life with him, which is why we take today to honor him.

Unlike a mother, a father's role in raising children is difficult to define with precision. He even seemed an afterthought to the politicians. Mother's Day was proclaimed nationally for the first time in 1914, while Dad did not formally get his day until 1972.

{REST} The consequences of not having a father around, unfortunately, are becoming all too obvious in our society today. In many black neighborhoods in urban America, the standard two-parent family can be almost impossible to find. Illegitimacy rates among blacks are approaching an incredible 70 percent. Large numbers of these fatherless children become involved in crime, and many of them die early, violent deaths.

White Americans have no cause to feel smug, however. Sociologist Charles Murray, in a ground-breaking article in The Wall Street Journal recently, pointed out that more than 20 percent of births to non-Hispanic white women are now out of wedlock. And that number does not take abortions into account. Murray postulated that the likely result of this trend will be a steeply rising rate of crime and antisocial activity among white youth when the rate reaches 25 percent or so.

That is the grim reality that lies behind the lack of a father. Indeed, it was not Murphy Brown's decision to have a child out of wedlock that former Vice President Dan Quayle was criticizing in his famous 1992 speech, but the scriptwriter's apparent belief that a father was unnecessary; indeed, an encumbrance.

A strong, loving father is the best role model any child can have. So amid all the jokes about loud ties and golf balls, reflect this Father's Day about the true nature of Dad's role. You never know what you have until he isn't there. by CNB