This is part four in a four-week series on the non-respecter of person issue, fatherhood.
Honestly, four 500-word essays aren’t adequate to convey all my thoughts relating to this critically important subject matter, and its relevance to our civil society.

Last week, heading into Independence Day weekend, I focused on the challenges our nation faces as it relates to the issue of fatherlessness.  Specifically, I shared my view that fatherlessness creates dependency, which is the opposite of what we just celebrated as a nation, Independence.

Solid families, built on solid foundations, produce solid, resilient societies.  Crumbling families, built on weak foundations, produce crumbling, diminishing societies.

On Independence Day last year, I completed a trip which took me through 9 states. One of the places I visited was Detroit, Michigan, a city which in 1950, less than three generations ago, was the jewel of our republic, boasting tremendous manufacturing and 1.85 million residents.  Today, there are just over 700,000 residents in Detroit, and there are miles and miles within the jurisdiction of Detroit, which reminds one of Hiroshima or Nagasaki in 1950.  It is terrifying to travel some of those roads.  More importantly, if you have compassion, the devastation of all the lives impacted can be emotionally overwhelming.  Demolition has proven to be one of the largest line items in the city’s budget for years.

Travelling those sections of Detroit illustrates the magnitude of the problem our republic faces; however, one can travel through most rural area’s in our republic as well as most urban areas and witness the same thing on smaller scales.

Demolition budgets are increasing all around our republic, because we are losing the inheritance we celebrated this past weekend – the ability to self-govern, to promote individual liberty, personal responsibility and private charity.  We are losing it, in large part because the lowest level of civil governance, the family, is crumbling.

Meanwhile, it’s a Presidential election year, and the media, as well as most Americans are fixated on who our next Commander in Chief will be.  Almost as if, we need greater centralized control because we have proven we can’t govern ourselves.

I was troubled this year when our current Commander in Chief travelled to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  I would have much preferred he travelled to the heart of Detroit, to apologize for the devastation that exists there, and to inspire the next generation of boys to become real men, to work hard – to build strong, resilient families, to become independent, as that would in turn produce a stronger United States.

Believe it or not, after visiting Detroit, I finished my trip last Independence Day with renewed hope for our republic.  I would like encourage you to read about that hope at my website, with this link – http://hscottcooper.com/this-week-i-travelled-through-paradise/.

In closing, I will return to the issue of fatherhood in the future, as I have yet to write about my own father, who will celebrate his 80^th birthday this year!

I hope you have a blessed week!

Scott Cooper

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