I saw this article on Fox News and I'm honestly so appalled that I had to share it with you... I'm going to take some quotes and respond, but to read the whole thing yourself - go to the link above.
Sen. Barbara Boxer is urging the U.S. to ratify a United Nations measure meant to expand the rights of children, a move critics are calling a gross assault on parental rights that could rob the U.S. of sovereignty.
The California Democrat is pushing the Obama administration to review the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, a nearly 20-year-old international agreement that has been foundering on American shores since it was signed by the Clinton administration in 1995 but never ratified.
Critics say the treaty, which creates "the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion" and outlaws the "arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy," intrudes on the family and strips parents of the power to raise their children without government interference.
Nearly every country in the world is party to it -- only the U.S. and Somalia are not -- but the convention has gained little support in the U.S. and never been sent to the Senate for ratification.
That could change soon.
Boxer has made clear her intent to revive the ratification process under the Obama administration, which may be amenable to the move. During a Senate confirmation hearing last month, Boxer said she considers it "a humiliation" that the U.S. is "standing with Somalia" in refusing to become party to the agreement, while 193 other nations have led the way.
Since when do children need freedom of thought, conscience or religion? Isn't it the parent's job to shape the people that those children become? I for one am glad that up to this point - we have stood alone and paved our own way... and maybe Somalia is just the only country with enough self respect to stand with US.
"Whether you ground your kids for smoking marijuana, whether you take them to church, whether you let them go to junior prom, all of those things . . . will be the government's decision," said Michael Farris, president of ParentalRights.org. "It will affect every parent who's told their children to do the dishes."
And to be sure - I'll bet that they'll teach them in school how to report their parents for doing the unbelievable act of *GASP* showing them the way to eternal salvation... Can you imagine?
I'm sorry, but I see it as the parent's responsibility to raise their children - NOT the government's. We have enough problems in this country with unmotivated children with some sort of strange sense of entitlement, and this would only prove to worsen those problems to an even bigger extreme.
I for one would love to be on the hot line or whatever enforcement entity that is created just to have the opportunity to explain to those kids that their parents discipline them and make choices for their safety. Did I always like the decisions my parents made, NO of course not... BUT I certainly respect those choices now.
You see, I grew up in an extremely wealthy part of town and some of my "friends" had allowances of over $1,000 a month... which made my $20 a week look really pathetic... but over the course of time I learned some things by that.
1) I learned how to get a job and work for what I wanted.
2) I learned that money doesn't buy happiness.
3) I learned that if I truly wanted to be able to be a viable member of society - I needed to work hard and finish school.
4) As an adult, I've learned that without a strong faith in God - you have nothing.
I watched several of my "friends" get everything they ever wanted growing up, while I was sometimes told "No" - but in the end - I ended up with a college degree, a good job, a strong set of values, a wonderful husband, my own home, and a complete sense of self respect.
The aforementioned "friends" - don't. Sadly, some of them have never worked a day in their lives, are struggling financially, are stuck in dead end jobs... and are depressed... looking back wondering how this happened to them. I'd say that honestly - their parents did them no favors by giving them everything they desired and not teaching them the value of working for it.
Discipline isn't done out of meanness - it's done out of love. Just look to the *GASP* Bible for some healthy acknowledgement of that fact:
Proverbs 13:24 (NLT) If you refuse to discipline your children, it proves you don't love them; if you love your children, you will be prompt to discipline them.
Proverbs 19:18 (NLT) Discipline your children while there is hope. If you don't, you will ruin their lives.
A friend of mine asked recently, at what point do we consider ourselves socialists? Well... it's unfortunate, but it seems like this would be one GIANT leap in that direction.
Isn't being different part of what makes our country great? Isn't that why we formed... on the ideal that freedom is the cornerstone of a great nation. What would George Washington think about this one?
2 things, because if I say any more than that I'll just get straight up ANGRY.
ReplyDelete1.) If the government wants to raise my child, then how about they pay for everything my child needs - food, clothing, their housing, the education and their healthcare. While their at it, they can try to make my child a viable contributor in society. Yeah, that's what I thought. They CAN'T - liars breed liars folks.
2.) If our prez, BO (ironic that his initials stand for something that stinks...but I digress) supports this, then he's essentially saying let a child speak for themselves. Wouldn't that be a mite contrary to what he's trying to accomplish with his pro-choice stance both here and abroad?
We've got ourselves a charismatic leader who isn't worth his salt. He's trying to single handedly undo the very principles on which this nation was founded. And all the scum in Washington knows it. I fear there will be a lot more of this type of thing awaiting BO's approval now that the scum of the world have their supporter sitting in the highest government position.
Hmmm, I am not a militant homeschooler (well I am a homeschooler, but not one of those that thinks parents are wrong for sending their children to public school).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, this smells of Nazi Germany to me.
The model of the US school system is what allowed Nazism to flourish (remember Hitler's Youth?)
I don't know that we will necessarily recreate Nazi Germany, but I do think it is concerning.
And JLI, honestly if the goverment sent a check covering the cost of children completely, I would be afraid to take it. I think I might just have to try and go off the grid.