FATHERS' MANIFESTO - A rewrite

From: trask@world.std.com (Gardner S Trask)
Date: 13 Sep 1995 06:02:08 GMT
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Keywords: fathers, manifesto,social,pathology,divorce,marriage

Based on the post that fathers@soho.ios.com (Daniel Amneus) writes:

>FATHERS' MANIFESTO

This in no way represents me as a "Father". It's title should be 
"Disgruntled seperated/divorced fathers manifesto"

So, for those of us with different views, our manifesto would go 
something like this .....



Enlightened Fathers Manifesto				August 24, 1995

Marriage is a social contract between two consenting adults to share a 
life long commitment to one another. This is not an agreement based soley 
on the womans ability to reproduce. If that were the case, men could hire 
serogate mothers to bear their children. Rather, reproducing life is just 
one of the many things a woman brings to the marriage. Love, respect, 
understanding, caring are just a few of the "assets" a woman provides for 
her "part" of the contract. Any women who wants only the benefits and not 
the responsibilities of marriage should not be considered as sutable for 
your life mate. 
	There have been cases where woman were permitted to throw this man
out while keeping some of the tangible fruits of his labor. But the courts
recognize that often her contribution to the union can not accuratly be
measured in just monitary terms. The position of homemaker does not reap
financial renumeration, but the value of the services contributes to the
union. A womans contribution is great indeed. 
	The man who wants nothing more than a family, and its rights and 
responsibilities, should choose carefully his spouse. 

	The power of true feminism is to insure the fair treatment of 
woman as equal partners in marrage, employement, and life. The 
growth of women from the thankless indentured servitude of 
past generations concepts in marrage are illustrated by statements
like: "I don't want to lead the life that my mother had" or "most
mother-women give up whatever ghost of a unique and human self they may
have when they 'marry' and raise children."  

	The present feminist concept of women's "independence" really means  
government-enforced regulations that insure social and employement 
equality. Not superiority, just equality. This includes societies 
recognition of the worth of womans responsiblities in a marriage can 
not be expressed on a pay stub.

Often, to reconcile an unsound marrage contract, the marriage is 
desolved and parents are forced to support their children without some 
of the previous benefits of marriage. And unfortunatly the  children do not 
benefit from the two-parent family which was created and supported by 
bioth parties in this contract.

This creates a situation where one parent does not have the exposure as
before. Parent deprivation damages children and creates social pathology
which harms every American citizen.  There is no causal effect to 
prove single parent homes absorb the majority of welfare spending and 
produce the vast majority of criminals. While most prisoners behind bars 
grew up in fatherless homes, it does not prove a cause and effect 
situation. Most criminals are male, so by the same logic we can infer 
being male predetermines your lot in life.

We agree that children have the right to be raised and cared for by
their parents equaly. We recognize that a balance sheet does not properly 
reflect the worth of a parents contribution to the raising of the 
child. We recognize that people are not always compatible, but that 
single parent households are not the cause for the litiny of 
societal problems. 

THEREFORE WE WILL WORK TO REJECT the concept that marriage is a business 
contract where father and mother are the contractual partners and the 
child is the product. We instead will work to understand that history has 
provided men with more opportunity at gainful, well-paid employment, and 
that womens contributions, while not measured in dollars and cents, are a 
great addition to the "assets" of the union. Children are not a product. 
Marriage is not a business deal. Those who insist it is can hire serogate 
mothers or fathers.

And most importantly, we will work to insure the fair distribution of 
responsibility and opportunity for each parent to contribute to the 
childs development and upbringing.




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Pardon the rant. This just pissed me off.


Gardner






-- 
Gardner S. Trask III                    trask@world.std.com      
"First .cultured man on the Internet"   alt.culture.gard-trask
    rahubby@sonic.net - Elf of the redwoods, sez "I don't crosspost. 
    I post Followups to other people's Crossposted posts on occasion."