TRADITIONAL FATHERS DEMAND HONESTY

 TRADITIONAL FATHERS DEMAND HONESTY 

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD.,Traditional Realist

 

In the traditional, two parent family the father usually played the major role of enforcing telling the truth. Often it was not done intellectually or subtly. Instead it was an absolute, non-negotiable pronouncement. “My child will not grow up to be a liar!” Any attempt to justify any lie was rejected with a resounding “no”! There were no ifs, ands or buts. It was imperative that his child tell the truth. Truth was celebrated as a guiding principle for an honorable person’s life. Lying comes naturally to toddlers while telling the truth has to be taught.

 

Young children usually attempt to avoid punishment by denying they did a misdeed even when the parent witnessed the incident. A spontaneous lying incident is a moment for a firm intervention that should begin as early as possible. Certainly, toddlers need to be reprimanded and corrected for defiance and inappropriate behavior.  Setting limits for inappropriate behavior especially for lying is imperative for the child and future family stability. 

 

The Bible is full of proverbs and passages describing the father’s duty as enforcing moral values that lead their children away from evil and toward Godliness. Psalm 103:13 “As a father shows compassion to his children so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” At times fathers must be feared to demonstrate to their child that if they disobey his word there will be significant consequences. Proverb 22-6:  Train up your child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Being honest to self and others keeps a person on the right path.

 

Advertising and politics in our modern world are full of out-of-control flagrant lies. “This product can reduce your weight by 45 pounds.” “This face cream will make you appear decades younger.” Besides pharmaceutical drugs claim they will cure everything under the sun from heart disease to sagging jowls. In U.S. politicians lying has become so common that truthful statements are rare and shocking. In today’s culture honesty is out of vogue and lying is in.

 

Every day the world seems more upside-down than the previous day. It is hard to comprehend what is false but most importantly, what is true and real. Our present culture has shifted towards materialism and not developing the next generation of outstanding citizens.  When it comes to raising a child, anything goes as long as the child is happy. Since there is hardly any unity among parents, they often give in to the child’s desires rather than take the more difficult road of disciplining the child. Keeping the child out of the parent’s hair has become more important than teaching life’s lessons. 

 

The conflicting childrearing philosophies have one thing in common, they are weakening the father’s authoritarian role in the family and society. Of course, the mother and father must be on the same page and seek out others who possess similar moral values. Without being able to believe in the child’s word, one’s family life becomes just as stressful and chaotic as our culture. Honesty allows us to feel secure in our interactions with others. Dishonesty breeds uncertainty in our lives.

 

Productive citizens need to have the ability to decipher truth from lies to bring us back to sanity. Inculcating honesty and truth into every fiber of a person is the antidote to self-destructive behavior. Lies seduce people down the path of evil behavior. Major addictions like gambling, drugging, robbing, and cheating can only be promoted by the individual deceiving self and others. After many denials of the obvious negative consequences of these deleterious behaviors, the youngster becomes delusional believing that he can beat the odds to his own detrimental choices. 

 

Parents should desperately want their children to be honest. Most traditional mothers take a reactive role in reinforcing this moral value. Traditional fathers usually take a more harsh and proactive approach.  Lying to oneself is a serious personal flaw that needs to be corrected as quickly and forcefully as possible to place the child on a protected, righteous path. 

 

Many traditional men attempt to eradicate dishonesty immediately. The men are considered cruel and mean individuals who do not love their children. Instead of being mean spirited, they were fathers who comprehended dishonesty opens the doors to future evil and loss of one’s sense of self awareness. It does not matter what permissive adults think if the child understands that this corrosive lying behavior will not be permitted in their life. 

 

Strong fathers have a negative profile in our present immoral culture. If they are joined by other strong men who believe in disciplining their children to tell the truth we will regain our moral strength to overcome evil. 

 

 

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers and blogs, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. Dr. Maglio is an author of weekly newspaper articles, INVASION WITHIN  and a recent book entitled, IN CHARGE PARENTING In a PC World. You can see many of Dr. Maglio’s articles at www.drmaglioblogspot.com.