With Father’s Day just behind us, I find myself pondering over the importance of fatherhood. Driving up and down the small town streets of Norman, I could smell the sweet savory smells of a family barbecue. Going into restaurants, seeing the families celebrate their love of their father and all of the happy memories that build on Father’s Day are happening right around you. But this isn’t the case for everyone.

All across America, there are children saddened by the fact that they are unable to spend this spectacular day with their dads. Some mourn the loss of their beloved fathers, while others wonder just where he might be. Whatever the case, the role of the father is an important position that cannot be filled by any means. It is one never to be taken lightly.

President Barack Obama wrote, “We can do everything possible to provide good jobs and schools and safe streets for our kids, but it will never be enough to fully make up the difference. That is why we need fathers to step up, to realize that their job does not end at conception; that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child, but the courage to raise one.” “We” referring to the United States does a lot for the youth of America, but like he says it is not enough to fully make up the difference.

The government does their best to keep these “dead -beat dads” in check with such things as alimony. Some of these “dead-beats” would claim that they haven’t abandoned their child because they pay their alimony. Comments like these are absolutely absurd.

Although single mothers may struggle to make payments more than a traditional household, the children miss out on the teachings of the father, not so much the money he provides. Father’s give us the belief to do whatever it is we want, while always showing the boundaries of how far we can extend our wings. A true dad teaches you the lessons you must learn to maintain a balanced lifestyle.

The need for fathers to step up and do the right thing is becoming more and more important with the economic hardship we are facing and most likely will to continue face for some time to come. In times of depression, a man’s actions and behavior is more important than the size of his wallet, so the lessons of the father are in desperate need with the generation to come.

As much as we need these fathers to do the right thing, for some it may be best that they stay gone. These “dead-beat dads” that are choosing to leave families probably have little to offer their children anyhow, but for those who do we need them to step up. We need them to do the right thing and be there. We need them to not only give children life, but to be a dad, to be someone to look up to, to be a hero.