"Our fathers were models for god, if our fathers failed, what does that tell you about god? . . . you have to consider the possiblily that god does not like you, he never wanted you, in all probabily, he hates you. This is not the worst thing that could happen . . . we don't need him . . . forget damnnation, forget redemption. We are gods unwanted children, so be it . . . you can run water over you hand to make it worse or . . . you can use vinegar to nutralize the burn, but first you have give up, firse you have to know, not fear, know that someday you are going to die." In this brilliant monlogue presented by Tyler Durden played by Brad Pitt in the movie fight club, we can see his opinion on his father. Since Tyler Durdens character and Edward Nortons character, whom we shall call Jack, are the same person, we also know Jacks opinion on his father as well. When analizing this monologue it is obvious that he isn't actually talking about god, but he is talking about his father. His father was never there for him and may have left the home while Jack/Tyler was still at a young age. Giving Jack/Tyler the mentality that his father may have not liked, never wanted, or maybe even hated him. Although it appears that Tyler accepts the fact that he did not have a father figure present, him saying that he doesn't need him, and to forget him. He's saying that you can get caught up in the problem and be stuck there forever just having it get worse, or you can find ways to make it better and move on. Which brings me to my issue, children not having a certain family member prestent during childhood, not just fathers, have to find ways to cope with that absence. A terrible social issue today is that less and less children in America and all of the world are growing up fatherless, and this is causeing them to become violent, join gangs, and making them more prone to getting into trouble. I would like to find and share with you information about fatherless children, and the violent lives they live.

In 1997, sixty-seven percent of children lived with their fathers. In 1998 the statistics showed that the number dropped to only fifety percent of youths lived, grew up with, and were raised by their father. Not only is that a huge amount, but the numbers are drastically falling. Today, experts and officials are trying many ways to create a solution. "Why will only half of America's youth spend their entire childhood in an intact family," asks the National Fatherhood Initiative. The National Fatherhood Initiative is a group that seeks to promote effective fathering through publications and conferences. People are hoping and wishing they could say that they predict a rising in the numbers, but all they see is the trends just getting worse. These trends are dated back to starting around the 1960's, when the sexual revolution was happening and "free love" was promoted, and never seemed to pass.

Studies suggest many reasons for the father not wanting to commit to the homelife. Some of these reason include no fault divorce, cultural trends, obbligation, and that the father doesn't like the idea that he has to commit to such a big investment and sacrifice. People say that they tend less toward giving and more toward taking. With no fault divorce, if the father doesn't love his wife and doesn't feel obbligated to raise a child, he can get out of the relationship and away from the problem easily, but that just creates another much worse problem for the child. "Fatherlessness is a predictor of every bad thing you can imagine when it comes to children...," says Wade Horn, president of the National Fatherhood Initiative. Another cause of fatherless children since the 1960's is sex before marriage. Statistics show that almost a third of American babies are born out-of-wedlock. This is because of cultural trends. Men see sex before marriage more fashionable and want to take part before they're willing to make the commitment. The main blame goes to the fathers, or in another view, the solution.

Now the ultimate question. Does a child raised without a father figure grow up to be more apt to violence? The answer is yes. Parenting experts say that children living with their biological fathers have more often been poor, broken the law, suffered from abuse, joined gangs, and confronted health, psychological, and educational problems. Fathers are said to be needed as role models and authority figures who control a child's behavior. Even some serial killers are plagued by their lack of fatherness. When asked about their fathers, they often show great emotion, whether it tears or anger. Less parents also means less supervision. Allowing children to get away with things that otherwise would be found out and diciplined. Gangs offer a feeling of unity and offer to fill in the gap created by the absence of a family memeber. It gives kids a feeling they can't get at home. Most people who join gangs come from fatherless homes and gangs provide the male authority they need. The gang acts as the other half of the family, or even a second family. In Fight Club, it's almost the same situation. It starts out as just small fight clubs, but then it turns into a gang/cult bent on liberation, siplifying the world, and corporate destruction, and the majority of people that come to join Tyler and Jack are men that grew up without fathers. Men that take after Tyler and Jack. Thus turning to violence, law-breaking lives. Even denouncing their hard sought after careers to have a sense of self-worth.

Solutions for this problem are simple and few. The main solution that would definatly solve this problem is fathers not abandoning their families. Fathers just waiting to have sex until they're truely in love, and truely ready to care for and stick with their child. As for gangs, one solution for that is stronger police action. Experts and officials wish there were better ways to take care of gangs but by the time children are initiated it's to late to get them out, so force must be applied. Government action focuses more toward helping the fathers whom abandoned their families survive, rather then keeping the fathers with the family. The government provideds welfare for both abandoned families, and abandoning fathers. This encourages this type of behavior because it enables the father to survive outside the family, and enables the family to survive without the father, which in fact, it doesn't most of the time. A terrible tragedy indeed.

So in conclusion, a fatherless america is a huge social problem with a fairly simple solution. This social issue is in fact traced to violent upbringings, and a violent adulthood. I believe this problem should not be overlooked. I think with such an easy solution, people should open their eyes and just try a little bit harder, or we're in for a terrible future. We can't change the future, until we change the present.