Missing "Dad"

When I saw Tiger Woods standing there, apologizing to the world, I saw a man in need of his father. That's right. Tiger does not need apologies, he does not need rehab, and he does not Oprah. Tiger needs Big Earl.

Tiger Woods is all bollixed-up now. If his father was alive, this spectacle that has played out over the past three months - culminating in last week's pathetic apology - would never have happened. Tiger may have committed the same indiscretions, but when it all "hit the fan," Big Earl would have told Tiger: "Apologize to your wife, your children, and your mother. Then, get back on tour and kick some butt." That is what Tiger needed to hear, and that is exactly what Tiger would have done had his father been alive. But his father is dead, and instead of a strong male voice when he needed it most, Tiger has heard a lot of female whisperings.

More and more, we downplay the value of fathers in this society. (We do it at the country's peril.) And men become more confused. In their confusion, they feminize themselves. That is certainly a shame. When this "feminization" confuses our sons, it becomes a tragedy.

There is nothing wrong with men being sensitive. It signals that they are more alert. But let the women be female. (They are better at it.) Besides, there are enough real women in America. What this country needs is more real men.

Now Tiger has lost his balance, and his father is no longer there to get him "centered." It is nature's way that we are all fatherless soon. The question becomes: Have you been fathered - have you been guarded by a man that has always had your back? And when that father is gone, do you remember to "man up" like he "manned up" for you, literally from day one? Or is his voice drowned in the confusion?

Time to man up, Tiger. And you, President Obama - you appear to be missing your father, too