Ethnically Speaking by Larry Meeks

Dear Larry: I am a longtime reader of your column and remember when you replied to a reader regarding Attorney General Eric Holder's comment that America is "a nation of cowards" because its people don't speak out regarding race. You stated that Eric Holder should "speak out against the breakdown of the black family" and "say something about the men who go from woman to woman leaving trails of babies and never assuming responsibility."

I read about a man who seems to be the poster boy for your concerns. This man has fathered 14 children with 13 different mothers and has more than $530,000 in unpaid child support. Some people in the county he comes from believe he holds the record for the "biggest deadbeat dad."

Larry, I want you to know the title of "deadbeat" is not just for men. I raised two boys as a single dad and never received a dime from their deadbeat mom in 15 years. When my youngest son died at the age of 21, she didn't even come to the memorial service.

Deadbeats can be women, too, but it seems only men are seen as deadbeats in our society. — Dan

Dear Dan: You are right that society is focused on the deadbeat dads, not the deadbeat moms.

However, according to a Fox News report, the percentage of deadbeat moms is actually higher than that of dads who do not pay the required child support. The statistics indicate only 57 percent of the moms who have been ordered to pay support actually pay.

The data indicate that moms get about 60 percent of what they are owed and that dads only get 48 percent.

All of the attention is focused on men because more men are required to pay support than women. As long as this disparity of numbers exists, dads will be placed in the spotlight.

I want to thank you for being a loving and caring father. Whenever I see a father taking the time to do the right thing with his children, I go out of my way to give compliments. I believe society should do more to advocate and glamorize fatherhood.

I am tired and saddened by the media's lack of support for the virtue of fathers. Dads are made to look ignorant and like wimps, dolts or, at best, misbehaving children in adult bodies. Even cartoons, such as "The Simpsons," make fathers look like doofuses.

I believe the most recent sitcom that painted fatherhood in a positive light was the "The Cosby Show." I miss the days when we had sitcoms like "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," "Leave It to Beaver," "The Andy Griffith Show," "My Three Sons" and "Father Knows Best."

If the current trend continues, the lack of fathers will get even worse, and the effect upon the country will be devastating. Children without fathers are more violent, abuse more drugs/alcohol, suffer more from depression, become parents earlier, and are more likely to be wards of the state.

To find out more about Larry G. Meeks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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