It looks like we’re going to elect the nation’s first woman president on Nov. 8. Things could change between now and then, of course. Nothing is certain in this insane campaign. Let’s say the polls hold, though, and Democrat Hillary Clinton defeats Republican Donald J. Trump. If so, what’s going to happen on Nov. 9? Set aside a repeat of Bush-Gore 2000, a protracted tangle of lawsuits and counter-suits and recounts. That’s possible, sure, but it’s more likely we’ll get the relative electoral landslide most polls seem to predict. What then? Certainly, we can expect a jubilant … [Read more...]
I’m a Progressive Parent, a Patriot at Heart
Since I became a father in 2005, my priorities have shifted. Where once I was politically neutral or slightly to the left of center, I now find that my every thought and nearly every action is a product of parenthood.
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I love America. My politics are progressive. That wasn't always the case. I've found that since I became a father in 2005, my priorities have shifted. Where once I was politically neutral or slightly to the left of center, I now find that my every thought and nearly every action is a product of parenthood. I am progressive … [Read more...]End to the Work-at-Home Dad’s Idyll
There they go. My children. Off to face the world. Off to make their way without me along to guide them. OK, it’s just school. They’ll be fine. In fact, they’ll thrive. I know this from experience. Our kids – most kids – are far more resilient than we think. They strike a brilliant balance between resilience and flexibility. They bend into and sway with the winds of fortune, testing the limits of their self-sufficiency. The best we can do as parents is to furnish them with the emotional and intellectual tools they need to harness the future as well as they can and let them grow as … [Read more...]
Presidential Campaign 2016 and Its Effect on Kids
Two boys, cousins, played with their iPods and built grand, digital worlds together. Minecraft worlds, full of the wonderful, the frivolous, the clever and the dangerous. A thought from the outside world, the real world – not so wonderful, not so clever – intruded upon their creative process. I heard my nephew ask my 8-year-old son: “Who do your mom and dad want for the new president?” Our son gave the correct answer. He knew because we have made no secret where we stand. This will be the first presidential campaign our sons remember. Welcome to American politics, boys. I’m bummed … [Read more...]
America’s Fathers Need a ‘Child-Friendly, Parent-Supportive Country’
Fatherhood is getting better for America’s 70 million dads … but it still kinda sucks for many of them, according to a new report released yesterday. The first State of America’s Fathers report, released this morning by Promundo-U.S. gender justice initiative and the MenCare global fatherhood campaign, provides mixed news on how far dads have come. It focused heavily on what needs to improve for the United States to be a truly "child-friendly and parent-supportive country" that benefits moms and kids as well as dads. “Fathers are more present in the lives of their children than in the … [Read more...]