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When was the last time...

... you met a 13-year-old who made such wise decisions that she never regretted anything, even years or decades later?
... you met a 10-year-old who never got upset with his parents' rules and/or discipline practices?
... you met a 15-year-old who didn't think she was ready to be treated like an adult?

Yeah, that's what i thought.

So, i have to ask, why does the government somehow believe that our children know better than their parents what would be best for them?  Why, then, does the proposed Healthcare Reform Bill and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child each want to put parents on the back burner and lift children to this quite terrifying responsibility of knowing their own minds, understanding their limitless choices, and being solely responsible for their lives/decisions/choices?

Scary. But true.  The UNCRC, i have known about (see information regarding the Parental Rights Amendment), but now i learn that the Healthcare Reform Bill has language in it that allows the government to enter and inspect our homes - which could lead to some really nasty social services issues. 

Been sick for a few days and have laundry piling up, dirty dishes in the sink, and kids playing the Wii in their pajamas at 2 in the afternoon?  Sorry, you're unfit, we're taking your kids to foster care.  Good luck getting them back, which even if you do, will be 4-6 months' battle while your kids are living with strangers.

Want to homeschool your children, but don't want to have a "school at home" philosophy?  Prepare to have your children yanked from their homes unless you agree to send them to the substandard schools in your district.

You think perhaps i'm exaggerating? Okay, sure, you can't believe everything some random person writes in the Blogosphere... i could be a nutcase.  I understand.

Here's some accounts of what we have to look forward to:
* Britain adopted the UNCRC and then used it to determine that homeschooling should no longer be legal, and they are attempting to require homeschooling families to produce annual reports to the government as well as mandating officials to enter homeschooling homes and interview children without a parent present.
* In Maine, 2 children were taken from their mother by a former DHS worker who hoped to adopt them. She did not cite the mother with any form of abuse or neglect, just took the kids to foster care.  Years later, her discipline practices killed one of the children, and the mother of the children is still fighting to get custody back of her surviving child.
* In California, a mother suffered a sudden bout of post-partum depression, and her infant was turned over to foster care.  Though the mother was diagnosed as temporarily irrational, and with a treatable condition, and the father was at work when his wife decided to hand the baby over to another couple, he is in the process of having his parental rights terminated so his son can be adopted by strangers.
* In Massachusetts, a mother took her 4-month-old daughter to the hospital, reporting that the baby would stop breathing.  The hospital staff also noticed the problem, but somewhere along they way, they called Social Services and reported the mother as a possible candidate for Munchausen by Proxy.  Fifteen months and numerous psychological examinations later, the mother was deemed to have never had such a condition, and her daughter was returned to her.
* In Quebec, a father forbade his daughter from participating in a 3-day outing that she had already been on as discipline for negative behavior.  The issue was taken to court, and the judge overruled the father, mandating that the 12-year-old could participate in the trip.
* I have heard of parents who are asked to sign away their right to be present or informed of issues during visits to the pediatrician - and we're not just talking teens.

Truly?  We are imagining a world in which a 9-year-old would know better than his parents what he should and should not be allowed to do?

God, help us.

As the Home School Legal Defense Association says, "Please oppose the health care reform bill. Congress should not force an unpopular bill upon Americans, especially one that increases the power of the federal government and increases the national debt. I am also opposed the bill’s creation of government home visitation programs. Parents, not federal or state officials, should make child rearing decisions for their young children." (emphasis mine)

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