“This is a national issue about young men that could be my kids.”

That from a Guatemalan business leader, Carlos Zuniga, about the problem of gangs in his country.

The same could be said of the U.S. Less than an hour ago, I walked my daughter, Isabel, 3 blocks from my house to her babysitters, Gabby. A block away from Gabby’s, we passed an apartment with some young men standing in front. “Miralo, miralo,” they said as I passed, “Check this out.” Without turning to confirm it, I undoubtable knew they were referencing me - a father walking with his baby daughter down the street. It seems at times in my neighborhood, we are a rare breed.

Less than five minutes later, as I talked with Gabby about Isa, we heard a volley of gunshots from up the street - right were we had passed just moments earlier. And while I thank God for his providence and protection over Isa and me, my heart was heavy as I walked home. Frustrated forr my neighborhood and the climate of fear that a daytime shooting - or an anytime shooting - creates. Sad for the negative stereotypes about my neighborhood that this reinforces. And angry that young men have violence modeled to them in everything from video games to life at home to even quiceaneras, while never even knowing a model of peace from fatherhood or a picture of real manhood.

It is humbling, since fatherhood isn’t something you can legislate. And yet I suspect that the age at which hyperactive young boys become gang-involved young men, is probably the same age when they realize the anger - about their absentee dads, the pain & problems of their single moms, and probably most sadly, the void of any other models in their lives.