Edit and finalize paper/adding and editing citations- in reference to "James Baldwin, Go tell it on the mountains"

Professor Bowden

Contemporary Political Theory

Due Date: 20, February 2019

The making of a man is something that’s not easy. Transitioning from child into a man is something that a boy has to do himself from within. There may have been some contributions from that boy’s surrounding that may have forced that boy to transition into a man, but it’s ultimately in that boy’s hands. Some males transition into a man more rapidly than others, being forced to take on the duties of a man at an early age due to the circumstances s that he may have circumference. When I say a man I don’t mean in terms of physical appearances, I mean the duties that one must take upon to be viewed as a man in today’s society. Duties such as taking care of his own, preparing for the future, and obtaining the character traits of being bold and confident. A child is a quick way to force z boy to transition into man, but its u to him to be labeled as a dad or father to that child. Do you know the difference between a dad and a father? Your dad resembles the trait of John’s stepfather Gabriel in Go Tell It On the Mountain. Your dad is the man who help conceive you or is just present in your life, but doesn’t nurture you as a father would. On the other hand, your father resembles Uncle Phil on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Your father is the man whom is celebrated. Your father is the man who is there to give you nurturance and guidance through your life. So an absent man who is supposed to be raising you and a silent present man all fall under the category as a dad. So which is better to have in your life an absent dad or a silent present dad. Everyone always discusses the importance of a having a male image in a child’s life, but what does it means to have a male figure in your life that is completely silent. A statistic stated that “the presence of a man promotes, improves academic performance and reduces disciplinary problems among children.” Clearly this statistic has to be a little more specific because John’s brother Roy has a man in his life and he still is having disciplinary issues. So maybe this article is speaking in reference to a father and not just a dad. So is it better to have an absent dad or a silent present dad because we know that there more cons that pros in reference to them both?

Dad is a very common term that is often the first word that a child learns during their adolescent years. The dictionary reads that a dad is one’s father. There were very much similar definitions provided on other outlets as well. I definitely disagree with these denotations of a dad. When I hear the term dad, I think someone who only is was meaningful in helping to conceive a child. A dad isn’t much accessible in the child’s life. When I say accessible I don’t mean present because some dads are very much present just not making any contributions in the child life. When I hear the term dad, I automatically think of the phrase “baby daddy”. Is it weird that when I think of someone being considered a baby daddy I think of them just being associated with once again conceiving the child and/or child support? The term baby daddy doesn’t make me think of nurturance, guidance, mentoring, or things of that nature. John’s step father Gabriel is what I see when on the term dad. Gabriel was present in his son’s life, but he did slim to nothing in the child’s life that was beneficial. I grew up 10 years with an absent dad, I was born on December 19, 1996 and my dad was station in Japan at that time. Although him being in Japan wasn’t his choice, it still didn’t change the fact that he missed out on over half of my childhood. For quite some time despised him for this. As years went by my mom and grandparents raised me. I had contact with my dad every now and then, but for the most part I knew nothing about besides what my grandparents told me about him. I didn’t grow up having my dad take me to the barber, he wasn’t there to attend my little league basketball game. This made me mature a little early, of course not transitioning into a man so rely, but it made me realize the importance of thing such as family who were the ones there during the absence of my dad. So maybe having just a quote on quote dad or an absent dad isn’t so bad after all because it caused me to somewhat grow up a little faster, my dad being absent mad me half of the person that I am today. It caused me to not be so dependent on people and things around because no one is entitled to helping me except myself.

In contrast to dad, father is a term that is frequently thrown out. You never hear a child calling someone father. Fa-Ther sounds kind of weird? Right? Why is that a child’s first word isn’t father instead of dad? When I hear the word father I think of more long-lasting. The dictionary says that a father is someone who is in relation with his child or children. That its definite the basis of being a father. Being father come in when time is dedicated to that child. Time that is going to be beneficial to that child. Time to guide that child, nurture that child, and mentor that child preparing him/her for their future. A father should be a go to person just as the mother is. That child should be able to call on the father at any given moment. It’s the father’s obligation to be there when that child calls. When I think of a father figure I think of Uncle Phil from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This man took care of his three kids in the show from birth all the way b thru adulthood. H even put in time to raise his wife sister’s child. So, not only was he a father to his children, but his was after to someone else child as well. My grandfather even displayed to me what father should be. My grandfather raised all four of his kids while running a company and working full-time job. Not only that, but when my mom gave birth to me his first grandchild, he took the initiative to raise me while my mom went off to school and my dad was sin the military. So there is no excuse that should be valid for the men of today’s society who does nothing at for the child who they help to conceive. I have to give some prop to my dad though, after retiring from the United States Army when I was 11 years old he definitely became that father figure in my life. He was there to make up for the years that he missed out on. Still today my dad is there to help me when it’s necessary. So let’s just say that him being present in my teen years helped to make me the other half of the person who I am today.

The Dictionary reads “Absent- not present in a place, at an occasion, or as part of something”. So when I say an Absent dad I don’t mean a dad that’s only absent for an eight-hour work shift, but a dad who’s absent for a long time frame in his child’s life. No one really knows what cause the dad to be absent in their child life. Is it something in reference to the dad’s childhood, could it be financial reasons, or denial of the child. Regardless of the reason why the father may be absent from the child’s life, as a father that child is still that father’s responsibility.

A son with an absent dad is affected at an early age, but the child usually acts as if having an absent father does not really affect him in the beginning. The son usually tends to act out more than the other children do. Then when factors such as income and race gets involved, fatherless children especially boys are then more than twice as likely to wind up in prison later in life. The fatherless son is mostly associated with aggression. Aggression usually leads to anger issues, which makes the child more prone to physical altercations. With those alarming factors and the police force in today’s society, these tactics is clear road to incarceration. On the other hand, a daughter with an absent dad isn’t affected at such an early age. The daughter is usually affected doing her teen years. The daughter usually acts out, resulting to leaching onto a male for alternative reasons because she never had any male attention in her life. The fatherless daughter who grow up with an absent dad it more difficult to be involved in long-lasting relationships. They are more prone to temporary relationships because they have already been scarred by their dad placing them on the backburner for whatever reason. So they go into relationships with their walls already up protecting their feelings, so they don’t risk getting hurt again. The fatherless daughter usually avoids getting close to people. When they do get into a relationship they tend to only reveal a little about themselves. They usually only revel enough to get by, avoiding to put effort to get know the spouse or significant other. They then have to result to sex to keep the mate’s attention, because that’s ultimately all they know now. This then leads to other risks such as stds, sex addictions, and other issues all because of a father being absent.

The dictionary reads “Silent not expressed aloud”. So let’s make it clear exactly what a silent dad is. A silent dad is dad that is present, but doesn’t address things. A silent dad doesn’t take up the role that he is supposed to play in a household as being the more dominant role, instead he sits back and basically does nothing. The silent dad is more observant, but yet acts if he isn’t aware of anything because he doesn’t do anything about it. The silent dad usually thinks that because he’s simply present is enough. Just as an absent father, no one really knows why the silent father chooses to be silent, but when he helped conceive that child, it was then his priority to be a father being present and vocal when it comes to the child.

A son with a silent dad is more rebellious. The son tends to act out just because he knows that his dad will not do anything about it. The son acts as if he does not care that his dad is silent, but instead he acts out as a cry for attention. The daughter of silent dad typically acts out for attention. Usually doing things being close doors hoping to grasp the silent dad’s attention. The child usually misbehaves in the areas that his father would guide him in. These child of a silent father cats out mostly behind closed doors doing their childhood. Over time they began to grow anger because they haven’t received the attention that they see their peers receiving. This make them feel less of a person. More anger begins to develop, but the bottle all that anger in. The anger is what we call quiet anger which more dangerous. Silent anger isn’t just released, it just builds up, it’s almost like nurtured lion, maturing right along with you. The anger builds up making you feel as if you are not worthy. Making you think and act with no morals, no values, and stupidity. The child of the silent dad releases their anger on other people as they get older, causing them to retaliate at the wrong people. People who genuinely cares about them. The anger usually just builds back up after its released cause them to have a greater chance of passing the aggression down to their children. It then becomes a generation curse that’s not so easy to break. Some individuals who are prone to this generation curse realize this curse. Then they are forced to consider this if they want to seek help with hopes to ending the generation curse. They have to ask themselves if they really want to have children that are aggressive and prone to anger as they were as a child? This doesn’t always end with the best results. Research shows that there isn’t always a great outcome in these situations. Sometimes this leads to those silent father offspring’s asking “Would they be doing the planet a favor by just letting it end with me?” This sometimes results to suicide. The most unnerving statistics is that nearly 65% of youth suicides are associated with fatherless children.

The bible reads “A person pride will humble”. This quote makes me think of a man, more specific the absent father. This quotes displays or places emphasis on how men tend to be so prideful not realizing that their pride is what will destruct them. Usually the reason why a man chooses to not be in their child’s life is based off of their pride. A recent study displays that there is multiple reason why the father may not choose to be in their child’s life. Three of the reasons are because the past catches up to them, a loveless relationship, and because of fear. When I say their past catches up to them I mean that the absent father’s guilt of growing up with an absent father catches up to them resulting to them not trusting their ability to be better than their father. The second reason, a loveless relationship means that the absent father, has no relations with the child mother. The absent father usually regrets this and this leads to him regretting the child. The third reason fear means that the absent father is afraid to be a father and he’s simply not ready. So he decides to run from being a father all together.

Guilt usually comes in tact in reference to the silence dad. Research displays that the silence dad reasons of being absent includes the silent dad being caught up in himself and because he isn’t good enough. When I say the silent dad is caught up in himself I mean that he has capability to be great father, but he puts everything else that he has going on before his child. The dad may be silent because feel as if he isn’t good enough, the dad tends to be silent afraid to say the wrong thing, and making a mistake.

All of that pride and guilt is hurting the father now. The child has already suffered the pain of having an absent father/silent father. Now the father begins to suffer. Then when it’s time for the father to need something financially, health related, or anything all that child will remember is all the time the father didn’t contribute. The father is usually affected when another man usually a stepfather begins to be a huge impact in the child’s life, when the child becomes successful, and/or when the father needs the child needs something. No man wants to see another man take care of their child, especially better than him.

We all know that it’s hard to break away from the things that we learn and was taught as child. The father plays a huge role in the child’s life and without that roll being filled that child could possibly go down the wrong road quick. In today’s society we see a lot of thing being displayed on a daily basis. One thing that I have been seeing displayed towards all races lately is police brutality. The police brutality begins with something so small such as a small crime and escalates so quickly over something so small, such as not obeying the police’s authority which we lean at an early age.

There are 4,575 prison in America. Therefore, there are more than enough prisons to hold an offspring of an absent dad or silent dad that chooses to not obey the law simply as a reaction of not getting attention from their father. Even after the single mother has done all that she could have possibly done, a child in an absent/silent dad household still has a higher chance of incarceration then a child from household where there is both an active mother and father. Research displayed that in “2002 Department of Justice survey of 7,000 inmates revealed that 39% of jail inmates lived in mother-only households. Approximately forty-six percent of jail inmates in 2002 had a previously incarcerated family member. One-fifth experienced a father in prison or jail.”

Who would have ever thought that there were so many dangers of being fatherless? Dangers that could possibly hinder your life for the worst. Who would have known that many of the issues that are so vital in our today’s society are mostly rooted because of fatherless/silent dad? When I say dangers, I mean drink abuse, child support, pregnancy rates, abortion rates, sexual roles, and std rates. These are few dangers that I have recognized to be vital in household where there is an absent/silent dad.

Crime rate is America is steadily increasing. In 2015 an annual FBI report read “there were an estimated 1,197,704 violent crimes committed around the nation. While there was an increase from 2014 figure...” A study revealed “109 juvenile offenders indicated that family structure significantly predicts delinquency. Adolescents, particularly boys, in single-parent families were at higher risk of status, property and person delinquencies.” You would think that with a child bring in school 5 days out of the week that school would help decrease the crime rate of juveniles. A research read “Moreover, students attending schools with a high proportion of children of single parents are also at risk.” Those studies were mostly in reference to boys, but the girls who discussed earlier grow up into a lady blaming themselves for having an absent/silent father leading to them committing a crime and landing them in prison. A recent study read, “13,986 women in prison showed that more than half grew up without their father. Forty-two percent grew up in a single-mother household and sixteen percent lived with neither parent.”

Having an inactive father in your life can drive you do many things. In today’s society a lot of individuals cope with situation and thing that they can/t handle by resulting into drinking alcohol. One drink ends up not being enough. So then they decide to have another drink, this then becomes a habit leading to alcohol abuse. An article read “In 2015, 26.9 percent of people ages 18 or older reported that they engaged in binge drinking in the past month; 7.0 percent reported that they engaged in heavy alcohol use in the past month.” The article later announced “According to the 2015 NSDUH, approximately 1.3 million people18 (about 3.3 percent19) ages 12–20 (3.6 percent of males and 3.0 percent of females19) reported heavy alcohol use in the past month.” None of this is normal, but we have to look at the factors that drive those individuals to drink, having an absent father or silent father may just be one of those factors.

With there being so may men not playing the vital role of being a father and their child’s life the mom sometime has to rely other resources to help her raise her child. When I say other sources I mean Child Support. Child support is a court-ordered payment, typically made by an inactive parent, to support a minor child or children. The amount that the child support is c0onsisted of is determined by the inactive parent’s salary and the age of the minor. There have been cases where the mom has been placed on child support, but in most cases the dad is the one that is being placed ion child support. The government doesn’t play when it comes to child support, if you so many payments behind, the judge can order for the inactive parent to be arrested.

Pregnancy may not be a danger to everyone, but to a female who isn’t prepared to carry the weight of child, it may be a danger to her. As mentioned before females tend to leached onto males for all of the wrong reasons, fur to their father being absent from their father. They usually leached onto men only for sexual reason because they never had a father figure to teach them what exactly how they should be treated. This then leads to that female being impregnated with a child that she doesn’t know how to properly care for. A child that she wasn’t expecting. That fatherless daughter was only looking for love from that man, but the love was in all the wrong places. A research study read “According to a 2003 study of 700 girls, “girls whose fathers left the family earlier in their lives had the highest rates of both early sexual activity and adolescent pregnancy, followed by those whose fathers left at a later age, followed by girls whose fathers were present. This study illustrates exactly how important having a father figure is.

With the pregnancy rates of a fatherless daughter steadily increasing this would only mean that the abortion rate is increasing as we. An abortion is a minor operation done to end a female’s pregnancy. Its ultimately the females’ choice on rather or not she wants to keep the child or not. I feel that it’s a great that the female gets to make that choice, because she only knows if she will be able to fully take care of the child at her full ability. I do think that individuals are now abandoning the abortion resources. I feel as if only individuals that can prove that they are not into the respected position to fulfill the well-being of a child should be able to get an abortion. All of these abortions is now making the United States as a whole look bad for killing off of these innocent babies, but we can then place the blame on the father. The father who wasn’t in his daughter life which led her to conduct in sexual activities that she wasn’t ready for, leading her to pregnancy which she is not ready for. So her only option is keep the child and deal with the struggle that she may face, or an abortion.

In today’s society ones’ sexual role is a huge roll in the society. Your sexual role are the traits that label you as feminine or masculine. In my opinion labels are never necessary, buy of the majority of the today’s thinks otherwise. When fathers are absent in the female role, she tends to grow up having males I way that she later portrays to be a male trying to exemplify being a better masculine figure then her father. An article read “Sexual roles of Boys who grow up in father-absent homes are more likely that those in father-present homes to have trouble establishing appropriate sex roles and gender identity.” In reference to males they tend to have issues with identifying their sexual roles more due to the fact that they father wasn’t around to shoe them exactly what it is to be a man and exactly what a man should do.

With the child of the absent father resulting to sex because they think that sex is the ultimate way to find love since they weren’t taught the proper way to love leads to other dangers. One of those dangers just happens to be a sexual transmitted disease. Since they are more attached to their supposedly significant other sexually, they usually miss on the getting to know each other. This cause the two not to be familiarized with each and not knowing each other d=fully to even know sexual history. This leads them to a higher risk of contracting a sexual transmitted disease.

Beating odds

closing