Tomorrow marks the centennial celebration of Father’s Day and I think the perception of fathers in America needs a change. I am a very lucky girl. Growing up my dad took a vested interest in everything I did. From coaching my basketball team to attending my musicals, he was always there supporting me.
My dad taught me how to drive and how to balance a check book. He moved me into my college dorm and drove me and my stuff the 839 miles between Jacksonville and New York City.
So imagine my surprise when I went to get him a Father’s Day card this year and the cards were either fart jokes, “dad can’t do anything” jokes and “let him watch his sports” jokes. None of these really fit my dad.
And why is it that on television dads are still portrayed as the goofballs who don’t necessarily make the best decisions? Sure there are exceptions Mike O’Malley’s Burt Hummel on Glee is one that comes to mind, but for the majority it is Homer Simpson.
Dad’s image has gotten so bad that just last year the Ad Council and HHS started a campaign to promote fatherhood. You remember it involved those commercials with dads doing strange things, the camera pans out and they are doing something with their kid.
I’m not gonna lie those commercials make me smile every time because I know my dad would have done those things for me.
I wish the card companies and television producers could find a way to honor the good guys out there. They may not always be perfect….but they do things with love and that is what counts. (I think I just wrote next year’s card.)
