Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows


I am not, in general, a fan of Focus on the Family. I don't believe that spanking is "Godly" discipline and I don't agree with most of what Dobson has to say on most things. So imagine my chagrin to find myself on the same side of a political issue as Dobson. I'm talking about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the insidious danger it poses to the rights of parents in this country and around the world.

It has, for much of human history, been understood that parents are the right and proper authority when it comes to making decisions for their children. It has been understood that the family is the basic unit of society and that government must err on the side of least disruption of the family unit. Along comes the UNCRC which threatens to turn that entire assumption on its head.

Simply put, if we as a nation don't codify current Supreme Court doctrine protecting parental rights into the explicit text of the Constitution we face a situation where this treaty, if ratified, becomes the supreme law of the land. On the face of it the treaty looks benign but as you look at recent rulings in the countries which have already ratified it as well as recent rulings in this country that are based on its principles and a very concerning picture emerges.

I invite you to go to http://parentalrights.org and educate yourself on the issue. If you feel led after you've heard what they have to say on the matter then please sign the petition and lets get the ball rolling to protect the rights of parents as they have traditionally been understood in this country and the world. Our elected officials need to know that "we the people" don't intend to have our rights superseded by this treaty. Lets send the message.