The authors may be commended for plainly stating their political agenda, which is to redefine masculinity, restructure societal institutions and push for government subsidies to all families with children. But such honesty of purpose endows neither scientific credibility nor moral authority. What they want to do is simply wrong to the vast majority of Americans who believe in the traditional family, who live by their commitments and who know through life experience that mothers and fathers do matter. Unfortunately, the article contains enough random pieces of truth to distract the unwary reader. Except, you know instinctively that's not true.
Many children survive family disruption and worse.
But by no stretch of logic or imagination can you convince a child that he's better off with one parent than with two. But the story doesn't end there. The gauntlet has been tossed and a cultural war declared with publication of that article. The non-essential father, a mere headline today, will become a textbook lesson for elementary students tomorrow. Parents should not ignore these tidings as mere musings among academics but see them as the danger signals they truly are.