For the advent of Father's Day 2026, I've decided to honor Avery Brooks' Benjamin Sisko, since a foe I know once dismissed him as, well, unlikeable. Why unlikeable? According to the detractor, it's because the character is defined by a garden-variety crutch: He's a father.
You heard right. A father! In Sisko's case, it means not only providing for his son, Jake, but all those stalwart members of DS9. Sisko's stellar attributes matter little, according to his denouncer, for his overriding, fatherly categorization simply isn't avant garde. It's just a little too plain and simple.
For the record, this same dolt once said that men are far too "put upon" by society. In other words, they're forced to reach virile standards they may not desire. Why wouldn't any man, no matter his interests, ambitions, sexual preference or political affiliation, want to live up to (or better yet, exceed) expectations: i.e. prove himself by contributing to life's grand and purposeful plan and with that, maybe, just maybe, be a father within the bold and bountiful scheme?
Lots of men are fathers. The person who denounced Sisko had a father. I have one. It's disrespectful to downplay their everlasting value and virtue due to their patriarchal roles.
Sure, some fathers are deadbeats. Some are cruel. Some are lazy. Some are drunks. However, most hit the mark when it comes to fulfilling their obligations.
Sisko fills the paternal bill and then some. That my opponent claims otherwise just make me like the captain and commander more. Such makes me revere the sanctity of fatherhood more.
So, folks, there's my take on the matter. Please consider it as Father's Day approaches. Contrary to what an insecure smart aleck proclaims, the emblematic Sisko and the good men he represents deserve the commemoration.
Happy Father's Day!
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