I just received what follows in an email from an old and trusted friend. He had apparently received it from another friend. I appreciated his added comments and the citation of the excerpt from the Proclamation on the Family.
I’m not fully sure what I think of this yet, so I’m offering it up here for perusal and discussion. I looked at the website that is the original source, and found it interesting. On the surface, it seems to be worthy of support.
Still all things political need to be weighed very carefully, especially when it comes to amending the Constitution. If it’s warranted, and the wording stands up to scrutiny, I will support it in the long run. For now, it looks good in my eyes, but I’ll withhold final choices until I’m better informed.
In the meantime, read on and tell me what you think:
To my family and friends with whom I share many common convictions. Please consider this email below carefully, which I received this morning from a respected and trusted friend and concerned parent. Though I am no expert in these matters, this sort of involvement strikes me as being in harmony with the final paragraph of the Proclamation on the Family (in bold), issued by the Lord's prophet and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. I've included an excerpt from that proclamation for your consideration:
"'Children are an heritage of the Lord' (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.
The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.
We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."
Again, please take a moment to consider this email below, and respond appropriately.
CT
Greetings Folks,
I am sending this to you because I believe it to be an important matter and your assistance will be both helpful as well as quick and easy.
The proper and necessary rights of parents have long been under siege in our country. And now, the God given authority of parents is not only at risk from within our own country's legislative and judicial processes but also, believe it or not, from international law, vis a vis the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
There is an effort now to make a Constitutional amendment which would positively ensure the rights of parents to exercise their authority in protecting and raising their children and it needs your support. Here is the draft of the amendment.
DRAFT PARENTAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
FOR THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
SECTION 1
The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right.
SECTION 2
Neither the United States nor any state shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served.
SECTION 3
No treaty nor any source of international law may be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article.
The link below will take you to more information on the subject and also a very simple and quick petition to sign. All it asks is your name, email and address.
http://www.parentalrights.org/
Please take a few moments to consider this issue and the signing of the petition.
So, let’s all look at it and discuss!
Mark Hansen
http://markhansenmusic.com
It is important to be careful about when and why we attempt to amend the constitution (which is what has always infuriated me about Senator Hatch and his Flag Burning amendment). That being said I think that the responsibility and primary authority for child-rearing should devolve to parents except in very rare cases. As I looked at the website I wondered why we should be reaching for an amendment now rather than expressing our position through statute as a way of laying the foundation for a constitutional amendment if that should prove necessary. At this time it would seem that opposing UNCRC and enacting state laws is currently the proper recourse.
ReplyDeleteI also like to be very careful when attempting to amend the U.S. Constitution. At the same time, I think these guys (ParentalRights.org) may be on to something. Too often I find scenarios where governmental groups, such as Child Protective Services and the public school system, act in ways that would be reprehensible to any almost parent.
ReplyDeleteCase in point, after his divorce, my brother was granted custody of the troubled 8 year old daughter he and his first wife adopted. After getting angry with him one day, and trying to show off to her friends, she accused him of sexually molesting her. After she spoke with a child psychologist it was determined that she was lying and all charges were dropped, but this was only have a year of living in hell. Even though the charges were dropped, he lost custody of her.
Some neighbors of mine had a 12 year old boy who came down with cancer. They didn't want him to have to go through the dangerous chemo therapy the doctors were insisting on, and wanted to try some less aggressive methods first. CPS stepped in and threatened to take him away from them if they didn't immediately get him chemo. They had to flee, with the boy, to another state in order to get CPS to even open a two-way dialogue with them.
Anytime a small group of people can make a decision of policy in a private room, with no input from the public, and have the government grant it the full weight of law, we should question it. And yet that is exactly what has happened with groups like the CPS and the public schools.