Posted on 09/15/2005 11:40:30 AM PDT by inkling
It's tough to be a parent.
In fact, raising your child these days to develop into a healthy, happy, responsible adult has never been harder. Violence and sex saturates television and movies, popular music is filled with profanity and rage – even video games often focus on the darkest edges of human behavior.
It is bad enough that the culture seems at war with parents. But more disturbing are the actions of courts to damage the link between parent and child. And no group has done more to inflict damage on parental rights though the courts than the American Civil Liberties Union working with its zealous allies.
The ACLU defines itself as the "nation's guardian of liberty" dedicated to preserve the individual rights and liberties of all Americans. But in reality, this leftist legal organization has devoted itself to destroying the rights of parents to raise children in the manner they deem appropriate.
This is not some sort of unfounded "right wing" allegation. Sadly, there are many examples that illustrate the ACLU's desire for the state to supersede the parent in raising children.
In December, the ACLU praised a Washington State Supreme Court ruling that prevents parents from listening to their minor children's telephone conversations. The high court determined that a mother violated the state's Privacy Act when she monitored a discussion between her 14-year-old daughter and her daughter's boyfriend. The content of this conversation helped convict the boyfriend of a violent crime.
The ACLU filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case against the mother and in favor of overturning the conviction. Douglas Klunder of the ACLU explained the group's position stating, "I don't think the state should be in the position of encouraging parents to act surreptitiously and eavesdrop on their children."
Attorney Randall Gaylord, the prosecutor on the parent's side, was rightfully incredulous. "I'm concerned that a 14-year-old's right to privacy now trumps the parent's right to be a parent," he said.
The ACLU is also undermining parents' right to teach their children traditional moral and religious beliefs. One of the latest battlegrounds in the organization's war against parents is Boyd County, Ky.
The fight began when the local school district settled an ACLU lawsuit over the right of a student group, the Gay-Straight Alliance, to meet on campus. Part of the agreement mandated that all students, staff and teachers view a one-sided, hour-long video promoting "tolerance" of homosexual behavior.
Understandably, many parents objected to the content, resulting in the desire of about a third of the students to opt-out of the program. Angry at this exercise of basic parental rights, the ACLU threatened new legal action if every student didn't view the propaganda.
"Parents don't get to say I don't want you to teach evolution or this, that, or whatever else," said James Esseks, litigation director for the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. "If parents don't like it, they can home school, they can go to a private school, they can go to a religious school."
Mr. Esseks doesn't seem to get it. Public schools should be just that: open to the public. That means open to everyone. Is the public school system merely for students who aren't Christian and who can afford to go to private schools? Indoctrination in the homosexual agenda is not the same as reading, writing, and arithmetic, and most Americans know that. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund are currently battling on behalf of the parents to ensure that their constitutional rights and those of their children are not violated by this so-called "diversity training."
Even on decisions of life and death, the ACLU wants to cut parents out of the picture. The group is strongly opposed to any type of law mandating parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion. In their fact sheet on the issue, the ACLU seems scandalized that parents might have a role to play in this most major of decisions: "These bills would give parents such absolute control over their children's lives that, in some instances, the minors' own constitutional rights would be threatened and their health and well-being endangered."
Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, elaborated on the group's position: "When the state forces parents to be involved, the consequences are often catastrophic."
Parents, Mr. Simon, are not the problem.
In an age where leaders everywhere are crying out for parental involvement in the lives of their children, the ACLU stands out-of-touch – proud to be an obstacle pursuing its own agenda without regard for any of the consequences.
Sadly, the ACLU has proven time and time again their ill intent toward American parents. Despite their claims of standing up for the individual, this arrogant band of leftists is attacking a most basic human right: that of nurturing and protecting one's child in an often-dangerous world.
Alan Sears, a former federal prosecutor in the Reagan administration, is president and CEO of the Alliance Defense Fund, America's largest legal alliance defending religious liberty through strategy, training, funding and litigation. He is co-author with Craig Osten of the new book "The ACLU vs. America: Exposing the Agenda to Redefine Moral Values."
And so rational, caring, scientists, hearing that ACLU Gay militants are using evolution to justify behavior that attacks little kids have, ahem, what to say in response??? Oh, that's right: the Creationists who deny Evolution and its necessary instruction to kids are the worst threat to the GOP bar none".
To Mr. Esseks: I hear you buddy, loud and clear. Check box Home School is marked just fine....
Often WND is nuts, but this article is a good one...
I can understand the democrats supporting the ACLU but why dont the Republicans start to take on these guys? This is why Bush etal. RINOs are losing support of his base - he has forgotten why we worked so hard to get him there.
Mr. President if you care about America you will quit with the double speak and stop the ACLU, enforce the border and quit appeasing the terrorists. Time to get tough
Thanks for the ping!
Get the government out of schools and the ACLU has a lot less fodder to feed on.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
Abortion is a medical procedure, and a potentially dangerous and damaging one. Therefore, I would like to know what the ACLU position is on the following: a young man, age 14, decides that the world is so awful that he doesn't want to ever bring children into it, so he seeks a vascetomy from his family physician. Should the doctor bother to mention this to the parents? A young girl, age 14, feels the same way and seeks a tubal ligation from her family physician. Should the doctor tell her parents? A young person, age 14, is suddenly felled by an attack of appendicitus and is rushed to the hospital. Does the hospital no longer need a written permission to operate? What other surgical procedures on youth do ACLU sanction without any parental involvement?
I say we stand against the ACLU just as we can give enough money to rebuild NO. Why not give enough to totally defeat the ACLU? If every believer in God fearing churches in America gave ten dollars, we would have a legal fund to destroy the ACLU. Not only that, but we could certainly entice very gifted people to go to law school and defend our christian rights against these lost individuals. The bottom line, it takes money. We may not like how that sounds, but money is what will defeat them. We must also gather together in united prayer against them. We are the majority!
And if enough parents "don't like" (i.e., LOATHE) the ACLU's agenda, there won't be taxpayer-funded schools, you self-righteous b*stard...
Why doesn't the ACLU tell that to cranks like Micheal Newdow? Why does our public school system have to cater to deviants and atheists, when the vast majority of parents despise their "values?"
I have argued for some time to evos that blind adherence to pure rationalism is deeply destructive to kids, to no avail. This ACLU dude went off the reservation w/ his comment and is likely getting thoroughly whacked by his handlers for his misspeak, but it was telling...
ping
I agree.
And if the child manages to pay for the abortion, but there are complications, and she is rushed to the emergency room, to whom will the bill be presented, the ACLU?
It is not a violation of anyone's rights to verify that the person who will be responsible for the bill knows what is going on.
And perhaps the ACLU has forgotten that the Constitution does not grant rights, but guarantees rights that are granted by G-d. I'm sure the ACLU would sue Thomas Jefferson for sticking that tidbit in the Declaration of Independence if they could figure out how.
Shalom.
Two-fer: Homosexual Agenda and Moral Absolutes Ping.
Kind of an overview about the evil ACLU and its goals, especially regarding parents control of and responsibility for their own children.
The book mentioned at the end sounds good, too.
I know that WND has got an ill reputation, and that Farah seems to have gone off the deep end, but this article is fine.
Freepmail me AND DirtyHarryY2K if you want on/off the H.A. ping list, and just ME if you want on/off the M.A. pinglist.
Given that the topic here is the welfare of children, this mindset if freaking scary.
"The book mentioned at the end sounds good, too."
Alan Sears sent Jay777 a signed copy of the book at about the time it was released and Jay said it is excellent!
Until children reach the age of majority, their rights are limited. I.E. : No computer in the bedroom, parents can and should inspect their childrens' rooms if they so desire, and you bet your bollocks to a barndance, if I have a daughter, and I think she's up to no good on the cellphone, I will monitor it. If she doesn't like it, tough. She can leave the house and live on her own while
"she still knows everything."
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