Mean Dads for a Better America: The Generous Rewards of an Old-Fashioned Childhood

As a comedian and conservative thinker, whip-smart funny Tom Shillue grounds his ideas about our current culture and political climate in stories from his childhood — a portrait of growing up in 1970s America.

 Growing up as one of five kids in a devout Irish Catholic family in a small town outside of Boston, Tom sincerely believes that the rough-and-tumble, rules-dominated world in which he came of age was a better America—a time and place that made him into the well-adjusted, happy, successful man he is today.

In Mean Dads for a Better America, Tom reminisces about his childhood, his family, and the traditional values he cherishes. He takes us back to a time when neighbors disciplined each other’s children without fear of being sued, when kids made it to the family table for dinner, when parents’ rules were gospel, when the occasional fistfight was considered a fair way to solve a problem, and when children were free to roam, make mistakes, and experience the first tastes of independence.

Tom debates, debunks, and entertains with his hilarious approach to issues of the day, tackling the issues that confound many Americans, like our hypersensitive culture and overzealous parenting. As Tom celebrates the stability of family life and the sanity of days gone by, he encourages us to hold on to our sense of humor and look back at our own lives, as we work towards creating a better future for ourselves and our kids, all while making us laugh.

As American As Apple Pie, As Wholesome As A Good Playground Rumble

In a world of helicopter parents, overscheduled children, hamstrung teachers, and entitled teenagers, one sometimes wonders if imagination, determination, dedication, and good old respect have gone the way of the dinosaur. In Mean Dads for a Better America, comedian and Fox News host Tom Shillue tells tales of his own childhood and uses them to show how simple American values shaped his worldview.

Raised in Norwood, Massachusetts, in a large Irish Catholic family, Tom grew up in the 1970s, but as far as his parents were concerned, it was still the 1950s. And that suited Tom just fine—whether he was serving Mass as an altar boy after school (while trying desperately to hide his sneakers from the nuns), dealing with playground tough guys by using his mother's time-tested aphorisms like “sticks and stones,” or learning the evils of Meat Loaf’s lyrics by being subjected to a dramatic reading of them by his father, Tom was able to navigate the perils of childhood with good humor. And through it all, love of God, Country, and Family kept him grounded. 

With charming, honest stories about his family and his road to adulthood, Tom Shillue takes a unique approach to addressing many of the issues that confound American parents today—our permissive culture, political correctness, overzealous parenting, and the dominance of technology over good old-fashioned outdoor play. Mean Dads for a Better America goes back to a simpler time while also reminding us that it’s important to laugh while we work out where we are headed.