The Demise of Dad

For me, dad is Andy Griffith. That is a great show. I encourage everyone to watch it. There are great life lessons in that show.

Some people will take me to task claiming that those old TV shows don't reflect reality. To some extent, this is true of shows like Father Knows Best and Leave It To Beaver. Seeing mom cleaning the house while wearing pearls is a bit much. But The Andy Griffith Show was not like that.

Andy was a single dad. He was a widower. He had one son--Opie. They lived with Aunt Bea. Right off the bat, you have a circumstance born out of tragedy. But that is life. Andy does the best he can as a single dad. He doesn't always get it right. But he is real which I think is what makes that show so enduring.

Andy isn't a drunk. He does use corporal punishment, but he's not abusive. He's not a bum or a psycopath or some dipshit. He is a sheriff, and he is a dad. He is a swell guy. You ask any Southern man who dad is, and they will think of Andy Griffith.

That notion of dad is lost today. Here is what dad is today:



Dad is a fucking dipshit. And why is dad a dipshit? Because he works and slaves to provide for his worthless wife and kids. Dad is the dupe. Dad is the dumbass. This isn't my viewpoint. This is the viewpoint of wives and kids across America. They can't respect dad because dad is a moron for providing for them. Dad needs to pay the light bill, buy them an XBox for Christmas, get mom a new car, and shut the fuck up. And what makes a dad a bad dad? If he doesn't earn enough dough for the family to blow.

Men feel this. They don't want things to be like this. They don't want to be the dupe. They want to be Andy Griffith. But when dad tries to be dad, he then gets portrayed as some sort of fucking psychopath. Dad is some sort of child abuser. He is a shitty husband because he didn't buy mommy that new SUV. He is a fucking tyrant because he tells the kids to do their homework, tend to their chores, and stay out of trouble.



It really sucks to be dad. Caught in this Catch-22 of being either a dipshit or a psychopath, this is what dad becomes:



Dad becomes a cynical defeated loser. He gives up. He just lets shit happen. He realizes he made his mistake when he said, "I do." Other men, decide they can't take this shit, so they decide to get the fuck out. They divorce their wives and start sending a check. Naturally, the women want the biggest check they can get while denying as much time dad has with the kids as possible. Then, they spend the rest of their years telling the kids how shitty dad was. When they do get to visit dad, they already hate his ass for all the shit he "did" to mom.

Without a doubt, there are some sorry dads. Some drink and have substance abuse problems. Others are just sperm donors. Some commit real acts of child abuse. But these are the minority of dads. Most dads aren't like this.

How did things get to this sorry state? That's easy. Women made this shit. Women call the shots these days not men. Never before in history have women had so much power in terms of the family, and it is no coincidence that family life has become such a fucked up deal. Nothing exemplifies this more than this man:



John McClane is not perfect. He smokes, drinks, and swears. His wife and daughter hate him. He does manage to save their lives again and again along with all sorts of other heroics and wise cracks. But you can tell he hurts inside. This is because his wife is a real bitch. He wants to make it work but over the course of the Die Hard movies it just breaks down. The things that make McClane a hero are exactly what make him such a "bad" dad. He doesn't take any shit. He is a real man. His wife loves his ass when she is on the verge of getting her ass killed. Otherwise, he is just an asshole.

The message is clear. You can't be a real man in America and also have a real family life. Men know this. Women malign men so damn much, and then are mystified why none of them want to get married. Women call these guys "Peter Pans." I call them smart. They know the deal. Nobody exemplifies this more than this man:



Clooney was married once to Talia Balsam for four years. It didn't work out. Since then, Clooney has sworn never to marry again. He also doesn't sound fond of kids. Naturally, he is the poster boy for fear of commitment. I don't know Clooney's reasons for this. He doesn't talk much about it. His only real vices are work and being "boring." But I suspect he thinks just like me. He knows marriage and family are a shitty deal. The result is that women want him, and he doesn't give a shit about them. And unlike the other men profiled in this piece, Clooney is a real person.

Men aren't given many options in today's world. They can be dupes, assholes, or Peter Pans. My advice to men is to go the Peter Pan route. Even Andy Griffith stuck with the bachelor thing. Women may take me to task over this, but they made it this way. They wanted it their way, so they can live with the consequences.

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