THE EDITOR, Madam:
from time immemorial it has been clear to all well-thinking people that the family nucleus is essential for the over-all well-being of every nation.
An ideal family nucleus begins with a father and a mother who are aware that progeny are not just biological offsprings that provide proof of one's manhood or womanhood.
Progeny are not for old age insurance, nor should they come about merely by accident. They are God's children entrusted to parents for the provision of their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
All parents must be fully cognisant of the fact that our children do not only come from us; they come through us.
Parents provide the physical portal through which God's children might enter this world to learn and grow from the experiences garnered here.
True, children are individual beings with individual personalities and individual lives but they need constant help and guidance. The gift of parenthood carries with it great responsibility and far too many of our men shirk their duties and slink away like cowardly thieves in the night.
Many of our Jamaican males abdicate their positions as father, "husband", councillor, guide and teacher in favour of a more carefree and promiscuous existence. They turn their backs on the most precious gift that can be bestowed upon a man, that of fatherhood.
The expression of fatherhood does not lie simply in the contribution of half the genetic material needed to bring about conception. It lies in the participation in the day to day struggles that life presents to one's progeny. Fatherhood is not a single event it is an ongoing obligation that ends only when one departs this world.
In my humble opinion, most of the ills in our country (like indiscipline, aggression, selfishness and violence) can be traced back to the lack of a family nucleus in many Jamaican households.
To modify an old aphorism: For want of a father figure, a family nucleus was lost. For want of a family nucleus, proper upbringing was lost. For want of proper upbringing, a disciplined, polite society was lost. For want of a disciplined, polite society, the very nation was lost.
Let me hasten to add that I believe that, on a whole, mothers are doing their very best to be everything to their children. I must however say that they must admit to some indirect complicity in propagating our "fatherless" society.
Too many women do not vigorously pursue dead-beat dads. Too many mothers go it alone forgetting that a father's responsibility transcends biological and financial contribution.
Women must compel men to commit to long-term relationships before surrendering themselves in an effort to prove their affection and allegiance.
Yes, there are parallels to be seen throughout the world. The natural sciences teach us that the very building block of all physical matter begins with the nucleus of the tiny atom.
Upon this tiny, stable nucleus the entire universe is built. If the nucleus were incomplete or unstable then chaos and degradation would prevail and nothing would survive.
As we observe "Family Week", it behooves us to rebuild our nation from its very roots -- the family nucleus.
I am etc,
GARTH A. RATTRAY
E-mail: akhnaton@cwjamaica.com
Coliston Drive
Kingston 10
