Response to my response my morning breakfast of fast news and changing times
I feel that an explaination of the term "flat daddy" is needed. At the very simplest a "flat daddy" is a life size, two dimentional cardboard cutout of a soldier intended to exist in the home and daily routine as a surrogate or replacement father to the children in the family. Flat daddies sit at the table at dinner, appear in family photos, accompany "his" wife to watch "their" children play baseball and even ride in the front seat next to a very real and alive "round mommy." One thing that I'm curious about is the amount of time these flat daddies are able to spend in the early life of their children. In a partriarchal society the father would not be able to be present at all times with his wife. But because this is a military family in war time the father still fulfills his role as the money maker but does so in an extreme way. He goes halfway across the world to risk his life. The flat daddy is an interesting psychological solution to this, the child has someone to relate to and is not exposed to as much damage by the reality of the situation. But this has obvious complications. Especially when you consider the statistics of mental health and severe injury. Think of a child who spent the last two years with their flat daddy only to have real daddy return without a leg or an arm. What is going to be the psychological fallout in these kids when the illusion is shattered?