Love Being a Dad - Pressure's On

With all of the craziness going on in the world today, I often find myself wondering what is wrong with us as a species, and just how much longer will the world let us live on it given how we treat it and one another. Between the Republicans allowing their friends in industry to hold down the fast-forward button on the kill-the-planet remote, large-scale riots by the Muslims over the publishing of cartoons, the bird flu continuing its march across the globe, and NASA announcing the need to speed up efforts towards colonizing new worlds due to the impossibility of a single-terran species surviving for an extended period of time, I struggle every-so-often with my motivation to face the stresses of every day life. That is, until I see my son in the mornings, before I leave for work.

I have to say that I love being a Dad. Kim and I are lucky to not only have a healthy baby, but The Man Zachary is also an especially good-natured baby. Even when he is sick, he does not fuss much - and usually greets us with smiles and giggles. I have come home from some of the most horrible work days I have ever had in my life, and one smile from The Man when I walk in the door and everything feels right with the world. When I am holding him while he sleeps on my chest, the rest of the world melts away. His laugh makes me laugh, and seeing him so happy most of the time gives me some optimism that maybe I might be a good Dad, or at least a better Dad than I had expected to be.

Of course, having a child makes me even more worried about some of the problems I listed above. How can I protect my son from global warming? Rising sea levels? The Asian bird flu? Rampaging anti-cartoon anti-Western Muslim extremists? The Republicans? My anxiety over these national and world developments can get overwhelming at times. Sometimes I look at my son and feel guilty for bringing a kid into a world like this – one with such an uncertain future. But maybe, just maybe, he will be a part of the solution. I do not think he will be tall like me (I read another one of those “How Tall Will Your Baby Be?” formulas. 6’1. Bah!), but God willing he will be smarter, and a better person than I am. Maybe he will be able to make a difference in the world like I should have.

I am more determined than ever to do everything I can to not only be a good Dad, but to be a good influence, and to do what little I can to make our world a better place for our kids. It hurts me to know what kind of world they will inherit from their forefathers (and mothers). It is becoming more and more obvious that the powers that rule this planet will not allow change without a fight, or a global catastrophe. It is time all of us woke up and took notice of what is happening here and around the world. There is more to life than our bank balances, the NFL and getting our collective groove on. If things do not change, and change soon, there will be no banks, no sports, and no grooving. The Ross Ice Shelf is melting, glaciers in the Alps are melting, temperatures around the world are up, and we continue to tune in to American Idol in record numbers while a minute fraction of the population profits grotesquely at the expense of our only home - Planet Earth.

It is high time we started paying attention, and making our voices heard. If not for ourselves, then for our children.

Author's Note: There is absolutely nothing wrong with the NFL, fantasy football, bank balances (when they are healthy), American Idol, or getting one's groove on. I am a big fan of all of these things.

[Currently Listening: Rod Stewart (w/ Jeff Beck) – "People Get Ready"]