Article 18 part 1: The State as the Ultimate Parent

Until this generation, it has been understood that parents are the ultimate authority within the family. Unless there is evidence of physical abuse or gross neglect, the parents are free to decide what values their family will embrace. Under the UNCRC, all of that will change. Today we will look at the second section of article 18:

For the purpose of guaranteeing and promoting the rights set forth in the present Convention, States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities and shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the care of children.

According to this section, parents no longer have the final authority, but instead require assistance from the “States Parties” in the “performance of their child-rearing responsibilities.”

As we’ve discussed in previous blogs, every loving parent is already looking out for the best interests of his child. The government, on the other hand, looks out for the government’s best interests. No third-party is going to have the love for a child that is born in a parent’s heart the first moment he hears those tiny cries. No one on earth is going to love your child like you are. This is why God created the family unit. There is no better person to make decisions for your child than you. God, as the Father of creation, knows the love that a parent has for his children. God created that bond and gave parents authority over the governance of their children. Except in cases of physical abuse or neglect, no government has the right to interfere with that God-given authority. Those who founded this nation understood that the family is sacred and is required to uphold our republic. If we reverse that trend and allow the government to try to regulate the way the family unit works; we will lose our freedom in this country and worse yet, we will lose the sanctity of the family.

This article clearly gives authority to the state to substitute its decisions for the parents’ decisions. It seems to me that the parents who will disagree with the state on how to raise their children are parents who have a different worldview from the secular view held by the state. Parents with strong religious convictions and homeschooling parents stand to lose the most if all family decisions are overseen by the state. Ironically, these are parents who are teaching their children values and instilling a sense of right and wrong. If the state interferes with families like this, we won’t have very many moral people left in our society, and our freedom depends on the ability of the majority of our citizens to self-govern.

Word-play has been getting a lot of coverage in the news lately. It is something that every writer understands. Make no mistake, so did the crafters of the UNCRC. Created to lull the common man into a sense of apathy over a treaty that sounds like it is full of the right things, instead it will strip our country of the ultimate freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

There is one last section to look at in article 18. We’ll be exploring the implications of what it means to accept government services for your child later this week. Right now we have a choice about accepting government services, but the UNCRC will strip us of that choice—all “in the best interests of the child.” Let me implore you, if you haven’t already, to sign the petition at the Parental Rights website. Also, plug in to local political groups that are supporting politicians who recognize the sanctity of the family and the importance of limited government. Don’t stand back and feel as though there’s nothing to do. The people of this country still have the power to seek change, but we must act now, before those freedoms are stripped as well.