THERE IS A CREEPING SENSE of bitterness in our society – an ugly cynicism that says that fathers are no longer necessary.
I’d seen hints of this viewpoint over the years, and I couldn’t blame those who espoused it. It sometimes came from women who’d been abandoned by men whom they were better off without. It came from grown children who’d never known their fathers and blamed their failures on that.
I heard it from the addicted and the imprisoned, from the unemployed and embittered. I heard it, quite frankly, from people who could’ve blamed their shortcomings on any number of unfortunate circumstances.
I heard it in rehabs and on street corners. I heard it in soup kitchens and in shelters. I heard it in places where people too often end up after life’s mistakes.
In those places – places where I found myself after experiencing struggles of my own – the stories were achingly similar.
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Solomon Jones is an Essence bestselling author and award-winning columnist. He is the creator and editor of Solomonjones.com and morning host on 900 am WURD radio. Click here to learn more about Solomon
