I don’t know whether corporate lawyer, Simon Courtney, is a father. If he is, I hope he realises how unimpressed his children will be of him and his irresponsible driving, his actions after mowing down an elderly couple walking a sidewalk, and his explanation to the court that was worthy of a frightened schoolboy afraid to tell the truth.

Mr. Courtney, is no example of a father and quite frankly he has brought disrepute to his profession as the jury, with their verdict of his guilt, are saying he is a liar.

And he is lucky he wasn’t charged with leaving the scene of an accident and being drunk at the wheel of a car.

Children watch and learn from their adults. If you are a father you have a responsibility to behave as a role model. They shape their lives as a reflection of you.

In this modern day mothers have to act as a father because of the number of fathers who just walk away from their responsibilities.

I was lucky. I had a good mother and father. I wanted to be like “Dad”. But my talent was not in making things. He was an engineer and a musician. He was a very quiet man, although he did like to tell jokes and dress up!!

So there was something there that I can attribute some “gift” to!

Do children today look up to fathers?

Do we as fathers, even without children of our own, embody the best attributes of fatherhood? Do we lead? And lead by good and honest examples? Therefore we need to be fathers to all the children our lives touch.

“The Fifth Commandment in the Bible tells us to honor both father and mother, and that when people heed this rule, things will turn out well. But how can a father expect to be honored – that is, to be loved and respected – if he does not live a life worthy of these things?

“If a man is lazy, dishonest, impure or indecisive, we can expect no better in his children. On the other hand, a father who loves and respects his wife – and who leads his family with decision and dedication – is the greatest gift a child can have. A child’s emotional stability depends on his or her father’s example. Because the first five years of a child’s life are the most formative, this example should be present from early on.” – Johann Christoph Arnold From “For Every Child, a Father”.
Cuban writer José Martí said, “the greatest aim of our education should be to make true fathers out of the boys, and true mothers out of the girls. Everything else is secondary.”

Arnold recites this and says, “There is deep wisdom is these words. Boys hunger for masculine role models, and suffer when they do not find them. Conversely, those who do find true fathers can one day become good fathers and leaders themselves, and leave behind a legacy that will change still more lives.”

So Mr Courtney, it is not your special edition 633HP Ford Mustang sports car that impresses us. It is how you act.

And we are sadly not impressed.

I hope, however, you did have a Happy Fathers Day. I echo that to every one of our readers.