“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.”
― Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum
As a society, we don’t acknowledge fathers in the way that we acknowledge mothers. While we set aside a day we call Father’s Day, this was a historical afterthought. Father’s day was conceived, and later celebrated, a year after the inception of Mother’s Day, on the heels of a Mother’s Day sermon.
Predictably, it was a woman who proposed Father’s Day. The suggestion made by the fairer sex is predictable, because men do not seek adulation as fathers. We do not bother promoting praise for the same reason society does not. Neither men nor society see the role as an honor, relegating it instead to a duty — like going to work.
Now, if you ask ten strangers on the street, whether fathers are important, you would receive a nod “yes” from all ten. That said, affirming paternal importance, no way mirrors the adoration we offer mothers, especially on their special day.
