We all have a father of some sort. We could not exist if we didn’t. How fathers relate to us affects us for the rest of our lives. This can be very positive—think of the effects of fathers such as the biblical Abraham on his son Isaac, who also was an outstanding personality. Albert Einstein’s father gave his son a magnetic compass when he was ill and changed the course of history by engrossing Albert in physics. The stories A.A. Milne and J.R.R. Tolkien wrote for their children and grandchildren, such as Winnie the Pooh and The Hobbit, are considered classics. How we view ourselves and life relates to how our fathers behave.
This can also be very negative. Think of the effects Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, had on his son, James I of England, who was renowned for his paranoia and the licentiousness of his court. Adolph Hitler and Manuel Noriega were both fatherless, and destroyed millions of lives via war and the selling of drugs. Josef Stalin’s father was often absent, and often beat his son and his wife. How different would the world have been if a father figure had intervened to give either dictator a positive example? Ted Bundy, born out of wedlock, never learned how to relate positively to people.
There are also sons who have opposed their fathers’ bad examples, such as Charles I of England, who, in spite of some failings, avoided the examples of his father. He was, nevertheless, not a very successful king. Many fatherless children, such as Jane Austen, Louis Armstrong, Roald Dahl, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, have grown up to make significant contribution to society in many fields of endeavor. Louis Armstrong was helped and nurtured by a Lithuanian-Jewish family, the Karnofskys, who gave him odd jobs and treated him as a member of the family.
So how are we relating to our children? Are they receiving what they need in order to have positive lives and make positive contributions?
Related Blogs:
Kids Are Bonded
The Momless Morning