When liberals don’t have a real argument they resort to calling names – typically some sort of phobia. If you want border control, you have xenophobia. If you believe traditional marriage is the foundation of society, you have homophobia. If you want America to use common sense to combat terrorism, you have islamophobia. Like the trigger words racist and sexist, these “phobias” don’t create a dialogue. Their only purpose is to shut down any chance of a real dialogue. However, Phyllis Schlafly was clever enough to turn their own talking points around.
One of the biggest attacks on the family today is the near-omnipotent power of family courts. When divorce cases come up, judges have unilateral authority to place a child with only one parent and to exact large child support payments from the other parent. The biggest problem with this arrangement is that so many of these judges are afflicted with what Phyllis called “fatherphobia” — the presumption that fathers are not important in the life of their children. So often, these family courts will ignore almost any attempt at equal shared custody.
Unfortunately, family courts justify their decisions under the mantra of “the best interest of the child.” Obviously, that kind of vague language can be used to justify almost anything in the wrong hands. Our culture and judicial precedent has always held that the best interest of the child is determined by the parents. When that societal anchor is removed from the decision-making process, judges reach for whatever they can in order to justify their rulings. Often, they end up reaching for the opinions of so-called “experts,” including lawyers and psychologists. When the rights of parents are abridged without due process or the possibility of appeal, we should know that the family is under attack.
While the laundry list of phobias from the Left may not be valid, “fatherphobia” is taking a very real toll on American families. As a culture, we must remember that children with both parents in their lives are the ones who are the most likely to become productive citizens. Fathers have always been and will continue to be a tangible good for kids and for our American society.
