I’ve walked the marble floors of St. Peter’s Basilica, stood before the tomb of the Saint himself, and felt the overwhelming spiritual weight in the air. I’ve walked through the foothills of the Alps. I’ve toured the halls of the English Parliament. I’ve watched the aurora borealis slither across the cold sky of Norway. I’ve practically memorized every episode of Seinfeld.

And all of it falls short to the wonder that is my daughter.

Not that I can take credit for this one. Although the resemblance is strong, it’s not my doing. What I am responsible for is having brought another human being into this world, and now, as her father, finding a way to be that I am comfortable with her imitating. Children can be such effective portraits of their parents, or if not portraits, products, and they are often telling indices of their parental characters. Sometimes of course you get Freidrich Nietzsche from a pastor’s boy. Not that there’s anything wrong with Nietzsche.

Naturally we’ll have a few years before Eve can begin to comprehend the virtues and vices of her parents. But then again—some believe that from day one, the newborn begins to react to the stimuli provided by its mother and father, and that no care giving should be arbitrary. Undoubtedly in time her observatory powers will grow, and she will begin to form connections between cause and effect, between behavior and consequences. She will develop a sense of morality formed around her interactions with us and with the world. And when I think about the infinite number of people she might become, and the complexities of our own personalities, I realize what I don’t have in this long-term scenario: control.

That’s not to say I will leave Eve’s future-self to the wind. On the contrary, I’ll be there every step of the way. But I can’t make her into what I see fit. Truth is, I don’t want to. I want her to have the freedom of choice that makes a decision meritorious. There’s a balance between providing your child with the principles and tools that will equip them with the powers of rational thought and forcefully instilling a set of ideological beliefs that will narrow their worldview.

I know there’s a lot I have to learn. And the first time my daughter comes home with an idea I find repugnant, I’m sure my tolerance will be tested (like if she thought “The Blind Side” was a good movie or something). But if my education and vocation have taught me one thing, it’s that the ability to weigh ideas in an objective light is crucial to making sincere value judgments. And that’s something I want for everyone, my own especially. So instead of focusing my parenting efforts at training Eve up to be a replica of my belief set, I’ll spend my time teaching her how to form her own.

Well I better get going. It’s Sunday, which means it’s time for Eve’s lesson in Rawlsian Theory and a reading from Plato’s Republic. There’s no time to waste!