For an unified movement

Last February 11 I received the news about the merger of Sacks Media Group and Fathers and Families, and the appointment of Glenn Sacks as Executive Director of Fathers and Families. The announcement states that the merger “gives the family court reform movement an excellent chance to build the powerful, well-funded national advocacy group it has long needed to effectively drive our agenda forward”, “a giant step towards the unification of this movement” (http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/?p=1461).

Fathers and Families (http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/), a 50,000+ members Massachusetts based organization, promotes a family court reform that would establish equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers, and, by doing so, would protect the children of divorced parents’ right to the love and care of both parents. A very successful and well-organized group founded by Ned Holstein (nedholstein@fathersandfamilies.org), MD and MS, Fathers and Families has a highly successful history both in the media and in family courts.

Glenn Sacks (GlennSacks@FathersandFamilies.org), a happily married father of two with a Master's Degree in Latin American Studies from UCLA, distinguished schoolteacher in Los Angeles and Miami, is a men's and fathers' issues columnist, commentator, and radio talk show host. His radio show His Side with Glenn Sacks, which has received extensive media attention, discusses gender and family issues from a perspective sympathetic to men and fathers. He has made hundreds of radio and TV apperances, and his columns have appeared in dozens of the largest newspapers in the United States. He has been quoted in dozens of major publications, and his work has been covered by hundreds of radio and television stations, as well as in articles. His opinion columns and his works have been reprinted and/or discussed or quoted in numerous books. And last but not least, Sacks publishes an E-Newsletter with 50,000+ web traffic (http://www.glennsacks.com/).

This merge is an example to follow. Glenn could have followed his path as a solitary prophet and continue to achieve as many goals as he had already achieved. Fathers and Families is an organization strong enough to continue its history of achievements without having such a visible media personality as Glenn. But the greatness of their decision is the realization that uniting their separate forces they would create a new force that will be much stronger than the mere sum of both.

We need more people willing to sacrifice protagonism and personal glory with the purpose of strengthening our movement. There is a given behind the decision taken by Glenn Sacks and Fathers and Families: our children are more important than us. No matter how big or prominent we could be, we should subordinate each and every one of our efforts to the goal of securing the happiness of our children. It is already time for the different pro-joint custody organizations to concentrate forces, to leave behind their individual interests and tiny differences and work toward a cohesive and strong movement that could have a visible presence and a loud voice at a nationwide level. I, as a member of such an organization, already signed to be a member of one of the Fathers and Families Action Squads (http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/?page_id=1347).

Let us work together. Let us have one voice. Our children are waiting.