Dear Editor,

"Absentee fathers can be blamed for crime" as a front page story of July 1 states, but we are going to have to step back and look at causes - especially if the statement is attributed to a person who has a particular political bias.
We have to step back to the issue of collective responsibility and how it has been downplayed over the past five decades by our political leaders. Sometime after 1967, politicians seemed to take on the responsibility of being 'daddy' to everyone, to the extent that one could get a job (or be given a job) with no real qualification or responsibility if they knew the right person. The politicians became more than daddy, they became involved in every school where any of their party members had an unruly child; as they banished teachers to out island postings or moved around principals who would not stand for their interference.
In one generation they destroyed a system that had produced students who were studious, respectful and responsible. Ironically, it was a system that prepared them (politicians) for the transition that happened in the 1960s. Back in those days even the policeman was fearful of the schoolteachers.

What has evolved is a culture of irresponsibility that may have reached its zenith in May 2012, when people were irresponsible enough to vote for promises that would have been impossible even in a good economy.
Politicians have inserted themselves into the fatherhood dynamic. It may be better if Mr. Keith Bell (state minister of national security) placed the label of 'absentee father' on this particular group. They only see their children every five years. At 40 years, it would be good to put this attitude of 'bastardization' to rest and turn another page. There are too many young men on the road referring to other older men as 'paps' or 'dad', and they have their hands out fully expecting a 'quick five' or a 'slow 10', and trying to stare you down for non-compliance.
We have to pray for our young men who find themselves between a rock and a hard place on this 40th year celebration. Just as importantly we have to do what we can collectively for a substantial number of young men who are losing hope in this generation. Politicians who make such statements have to provide a historical perspective, or they will be seen as irresponsible, even though they think they sound good.

- Edward Hutcheson

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