4 roles men play in the home
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Dear Friends,

This month includes a celebration designated as Father's Day (June 19th). In keeping with that theme, I'm addressing this newsletter to our nation's dads. Some of the following thoughts can be found in my book, Bringing Up Boys, and I think they present the most helpful concepts I have to offer on that subject. I've called this letter, "The Essential Father." I hope you enjoy it.

General Douglas MacArthur, one of my heroes, was one of the greatest military leaders of all time. He led the Allied armies to victory in the Pacific over the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Then he commanded our United Nations forces in Korea. His surprise landing at Inchon was one of the most brilliant maneuvers in the history of warfare. These accomplishments on the land, sea and in the air explain why MacArthur is revered today, many decades after his death.

But there is another reason for my admiration of this man. It can be traced to a speech he gave in 1942, after he had been given an award for being a good father. This is what he said on that day:
  "Nothing has touched me more deeply than [this honor given to me] by the National Father's Day committee. By profession, I am a soldier and take great pride in that fact. But I am prouder, infinitely prouder, to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build. The father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentialities of death; the other embodies creation and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battle, but in the home."  

Keep reading for 4 roles that constitute "a good family man"

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