Parents, The First Educators

While this article does not directly address the UNCRC, it serves as great pragmatic evidence for parent's role in children's upbringing. The main theme of the article is:

"Married, biological parents are the gold standard for raising children successfully."

Should you run across someone who argues for greater governmental control of parenting, consider this article as a little morsel of truth that they can either digest or choke on. If they are seeking truth, it will be nourishing to them. If they are unwilling to listen, they will cough, sputter, and gag trying to ignore the clear evidence. Either way, feed it to them gently, but don't hide it from them.

Hot, Sexy, and Safer for your High Schoolers ?

Forgive the racy title, but you must read this court case (synopsis -- full court decision) in which a "Massachusetts public high school hosted a mandatory, school-wide assembly conducted by Hot, Sexy, and Safer Productions. This assembly was characterized as an AIDS awareness and sexual education program." Parents sued as there was no notification nor any opt-out opportunity, but the parents LOST the suit.

Some of the quotes from the decision are below:

"...the Supreme Court has yet to decide whether the right to direct the upbringing and education of one's children is among those fundamental rights whose infringement merits heightened scrutiny."

"We do not think, however, that this freedom encompasses a fundamental constitutional right to dictate the curriculum at the public school to which they have chosen to send their children."

"We ... find that the rights of parents as described by Meyer and Pierce do not encompass a broad-based right to restrict the flow of information in the public schools."

Those of us who homeschool currently feel a little safer from such legal insanity as this, but we must remember two things. First, this insanity will find its way into our homes one day if we don't stop it dead in its tracks now. Second, our friends next door, next to us on the church pew, and our relatives with school age children need to know about this. Only if we all band together will our voices have any chance of being heard. You must begin raising your voice now by forwarding this e-mail, by inviting one of us to speak to your groups, by sharing your concerns with everyone you. Please, don't wait any longer.

Some Thoughts from my Heart

The opening of my latest e-newsletter which I wish to share with you also...

Good Evening,
I am working late tonight, but wanted to send out an update on Parental Rights Issues facing American Parents. First, a few thoughts weighing on my heart.
God's providence has kept my mind and my hands busy with many tasks over the past month, mostly unrelated to parental rights, but necessary to the well being of my own family. I have left many activism ideas simmering, undone, or even opportunities lost in the midst of flood repairs and life's recent challenges. I apologize if I have dropped the ball with any of you. I have been forced to trust God with circumstances beyond my control, to trust that He is working to preserve His people through parents passing a Christian heritage on to their children despite the increasing pressure opposing that inheritance. I have had to pray for co-laborers in this fight and have had some prayers answered.
Today, I again renew my prayers for each recipient of this e-mail to pause long enough to consider how you can participate in this watershed moment of history. Will Christian parents continue to possess the freedom of passing a Christian heritage to their next generation? Or will loving parents sit back, idly watching government strip away layer after layer of freedom until nothing is left but baby-sitting? God will determine the outcome, but we as the parents are the means of victory in this battle. If we forsake this God ordained duty, our children and our society will suffer irreparable harm.

Senator Lamar Alexander needs to hear from you

SR 519 -- Alexander


While I do not have the details, Senator Corker seems to be on our side of this issue (see footnote below), but is unwilling to become a sponsor of SR519 (CLICK HERE if you do not know about SR519). While I hope to press Senator Corker a little further into a more solid commitment, for now we need to focus on Senator Alexander. Please call and ask him to become a cosponsor of SR519, a resolution before the US Senate that says he will NOT vote in favor of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. To be clear, we don't expect that this resolution will pass the entire house, but if we can obtain 34 cosponsors, we effectively prevent treaty supporters from obtaining their 67 "yea" votes for ratification. This is crucial to place a major obstacle in the path of the UN CRC and to allow time for the Parental Rights Amendment to continue its course.

Please call him this week to express your frustration with his delay in co-sponsoring SR 519.

Sen. Alexander 202-224-4944
CLICK here for local offices

Footnote:
While Senator Corker has stated to our office that he opposes the UN CRC, his direct letters to constituents has been less encouraging. After you call Senator Alexander's office, please call Senator Corker and ask for a clarification of his position on SR 519 and the UN CRC.
Main: 202-224-3344
Fax: 202-228-0566
CLICK HERE FOR LOCAL OFFICES

Action Item to Protect Parental Rights

Good Morning,

If you are new to this blog, you may not be aware of the threat posed to the American family by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC). While our website at ParentalRights.Org or postings further down in this blog can provide the full story, I will simply say here that this treaty will place the federal government in the legal position of dictating how each of you raise your children. Forget the takeover of healthcare and banking. This is worse, telling parents what they can teach their child, where they can send them to school, how they are permitted to discipline them, and much more. All of this will be monitored by the United Nations. They even want to allow children to petition directly to the UN when they disagree with parental decisions. Absurd!

There are many ways our organization is fighting this threat. The most urgent method is Senate Resolution 519 (SR519). SR519 simply states resolute opposition to the UN CRC. This resolution, if it can gain 34 cosponsors, would effectively close the door on any chance of the UN CRC being ratified (treaties require 67 "yes" votes for ratification). 34 "no"'s is the major number to guarantee its defeat.

Amazingly, Senators Alexander and Corker HAVE NOT committed their suppor of this resolution?!? Therefore I am asking each of you to call our Senators and ask why they will not become cosponsors while urging them to listen to your objections to the treaty. (If you live outside of Tennessee, go to THIS LINK to learn whether or not your Senator is cosponsoring SR 519).

While I could provide a list of our Senator's previously expressed excuses, it is simply a matter of either procrastination, disregard for the traditional family, or secret support of the treaty on their part. We must challenge them to choose sides in this battle and reveal their true colors. There is too much at stake for a position of neutrality (actually, no neutrality truly exists on this matter).
Thank you for your time and effort spent protecting our precious sons and daughters as well as for all the work you do in protecting our freedoms. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.



Our Senator's contact information is below:

Senator Lamar Alexander
DC office:
Phone: (202) 224-4944
Fax: (202) 228-3398

Link to local offices:
http://alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=OfficeLocations


Senator Corker
DC office:
Main: 202-224-3344
Fax: 202-228-0566

Link to Local offices:
http://corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=OfficeLocations




Protecting children by empowering parents,

Eric Potter MD

Tennessee Director for Parental Rights.Org

Good Afternoon,
Okay, finally starting to catch my breath from the past week. Thank you for your prayers. Our house managed to avoid significant flood damage thanks to some angels/friends that helped my wife while I was trapped working at the hospital. And thanks to some other angels/friends, we are putting the pieces back together. However, many others have not fared so well and are cleaning up after losing homes, vehicles, and many belongings. Please continue to pray for them and consider helping out by going to Hands On Nashville.


Two Great Articles

The first article comes from Family Security Matters. This website has provided a variety of good articles on other similar subjects. I can't vouch for the entire site, but so far it has been a pretty sound resource. The ARTICLE discusses the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its impact on the American Family. It would be a good article to forward to others (hint-hint) that need to hear about this issue.


The second article addresses Ontario's recent proposal for their public education sex-ed curriculum. While this proposal eventually was rejected, the quote below indicates what many think is the "best" for children.
"By the third grade, which in Ontario generally means children aged 7 or 8 years old, teachers would introduce topics such as homosexuality, gender identity and sexual orientation. In grade six, masturbation would share time with grammar and complex math problems, while in grade seven, children would begin to learn about oral and anal sex."

If you think, so what, that's not in our country?, consider this quote from the National Post in which US education "experts" were quoted praising Ontario's plan.

"I thought this is so fantastic that someone is finally setting the stage that, to be comprehensive, sex education cannot start in high school or even middle school - you have to start early because everything is a building block," said Elizabeth Schroeder, executive director of Answer, an organization based at Rutgers University providing and promoting comprehensive sexuality education.

Read more: HERE

Reflection on Parenting

Good Morning,
This week's theme is simply "Reflection". Please take a few minutes to consider two things this week. First, what is parenting to you (if you are a parent or hope to be one)? Think along these lines: Why do you do what you do? What exactly do you do? What are your parenting goals? And one more challenging question: Have you fallen prey to culture's deceit that the "experts" know how to raise your children better than you do?

Second, what does today's average parent think of parenting? Is it a chore? Is it best done by delegating parenting tasks to select "experts"? Is it a priority or a nuisance?

What am I getting at? Our culture seems to have swallowed the deception hook, line, and sinker. A high percentage of parents seem to believe that they are either incapable of directing their child's upbringing or they don't seem to understand that they even have a responsibility to direct the child's upbringing in the first place. "Experts", some well meaning and others ill-intentioned, have convinced many in society that parents aren't smart enough to raise their own children. Parents are told that they must always follow the latest "expert" advice. As parents, we all need wisdom from others at times or a helping hand, but when have we crossed the line and expected various "experts" to do our job for us.

In contrast, the Bible has delegated this responsibility to parents (see Ephesians 6:3 and other scripture) not to "experts" and policy makers. We must help parents see this responsibility before they will be concerned with defending their "parental rights".

Please reflect on your own perspective on parenting and consider the trends in our culture. The biggest hurdle may not be the passage of an amendment, but the apathy of our nation's parents.

Tri-lingual couple with TWO Ph.D.'s and Masters Degree are not qualified to homeschool their children?

A 2006 article by American Thinker is very pertinent to today's debate over the UN CRC, especially if you homeschool. In America, we have had legal battles about whether or not a parent must have a teaching degree or license in order to qualify for homeschooling. Relative to an incident in Belgium in 2006, that requirement is "child's play". Read below or at this LINK to learn how a father was called into the police for interrogation and informed:

"that, as a homeschooler, he has not adequately educated his children and, hence, is neglecting his duty as a parent, which is a criminal offence."

Was he or his wife somehow deficient in their own educational preparation? Let's see if their credentials fall short....

1) Father: Ph.D., fluent in Dutch, English, and French.

2) Mother: Master's degree in Linguistics, doctorate in Philology, lecturer at two universities, author of books on topics which are so intellectual that I do not even understand the titles. Gave up full-time work to homeschool their children.

If that isn't qualified, what is? What did the Ministry of Education say was their crime? They refused to sign an oath:

"respecting the respect (sic) for the fundamental human rights and the cultural values of the child itself and of others."

Please, pause, take a deep breath, and consider the implications of this philosophy (inherent in the UN CRC) on your family. You can't even hide behind a Ph.D. to prove your fitness to homeschool if you don't follow their rules.

Our Response - Part 5 of 5 in the Series

Hopefully, by this point, only one question remains in the minds of readers, “Is there anything I can do to stop the insanity behind the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child?” If that is not the question you are asking, then go back and re-read the prior 4 postings before reading this one. Without that question in the forefront of your mind, there is no need for reading this posting. From there the title says it all. “Our” means that a victory for families will require the combined voices of parents across the nation shouting “no” to this treachory. “Response” means that parents cannot sit back and hope for the best. They must take action. From there the script should go like this.

First, parents must educate themselves on this issue by reading these postings and other information on the Parental Rights.Org website as well as the UN treaty itself. Then, each “educated” parent must alert other parents by simply sharing with them what they themselves have learned about the issue. Patience is required at this step as many will no believe this news nor even want to consider the possibility that it is a reality. From there, pressure must be exerted on our Senators who are the final step in this treaty’s ratification. If they fall prey to the deception, this treaty becomes “as-if” Supreme Law of the Land according to Article 6 of our constitution (see future post for an explanation of “as-if”). American parents must present their stance politely yet firmly by phone, e-mail, fax, and even in face to face meetings with Senators and their staff.

The Senate’s defeat of this treaty, however, is not the end of the story, but only a temporary victory. This treaty can reawaken later for ratification if the only action is a “no” vote. The underlying philosophies will still continue to simmer and are even now eroding parental rights through developing legislation and deceptive practices by government agencies including the public education system. Unless something more is done, the only difference will be between an immediate victory for the treaty supporters and a delayed victory of slow but eventual complete erosion of these rights. The complete and final answer is a Parental Right Amendment that is currently before both houses of the US Congress. This amendment uses wording from past Supreme Court cases that upheld parental rights and combines it with a section that exempts parental rights from any international treaty’s effects. If ratified, it places clear and explicit protection in our constitution for parent’s right to direct the care and education of their own children. Currently, this right has only been implied from the 14th amendment and is on shaky ground thanks to the last Supreme Court case in 2000 regarding parental rights. Without going into the details, it basically left open the question of whether parental rights are constitutionally protected or not, to the lower courts where there is no guarantee of safety for these rights. The Parental Rights Amendment now proposed would recognize parent’s God-given rights and would finally close the door on such unconstitutional international treaties. It would provide a clear constitutional ground for protecting our rights. For the parent desiring to retain their parental rights, this means a call to both Senators and Representatives to urge support for this amendment.

So, our response, as parents with God given rights and responsibilities towards our children, should be 1) to educate ourselves and alert others to this threat, 2) to jointly urge our Senators to vote “NO” on the treaty, 3) to urge all our Congressmen to sponsor the Parental Rights Amendment. For those desiring to go further in defending their rights, www.parentalrights.org has more ways that you can contribute. If you live in Tennessee, please contact our Tennessee organization through www.tennesseeparentalrights.com.

Thank you for reading this series. I pray that together, with God’s help, we can retain the freedom to raise our children according to the values and beliefs which we hold dear.

Specific Rights in the UN CRC - part 4 of 5

The previously described philosophies (see part 3 of this series) are spelled out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child by way of “rights” codified in the treaty’s articles. Many of these so-called “rights” are benevolent, like outlawing child abuse, outlawing using children as soldiers, and outlawing child prostitution. However, most if not all Americans should recognize that we already have laws for protecting children in these circumstances and absolutely do not need a duplication of those laws. This is especially true if parents realize what other baggage comes packaged in this treaty.

At first reading, some of these other rights seem harmless at face value while others are obviously at least concerning. The reader of the treaty could be left wondering whether there is cause for fear or not until they look at how the treaty has been used in other countries and the United Nation’s actions through other human rights treaties. The right to privacy found in article 16 was used in Japan to prevent parents from accessing their children’s text messages, chat rooms, and e-mails. In Britain, this treaty is being used to legislate that home-schooled children can be subjected to an unannounced in-home examination without their parents present through its right to an education that government determines is best. In Belize, the committee overseeing the treaty recommended that the Belize government create formal avenues in which children could legally protest their parent’s violations of this treaty’s rights. The treaty also guarantees a right to health care including reproductive health care which seems noble. However, the intention of this right needs to be considered in light of another UN treaty called the Convention to End All Discrimination Against Women, or CEDAW. CEDAW has been used to force countries to legalize abortion and decriminalize prostitution (1,2,3). Given the treaty’s right to health care provision, children could be guaranteed the right to abortion even without parental consent as it is a reproductive health care right. One final issue should cause great concern for American gun-owners. Given the treaty’s stance that government should always seek the best interest of the child and the UN’s stance that guns are bad for children, this will naturally lead to gun control in our country in the guise of protecting children. Parents will be forced to part with their guns voluntarily or possibly lose their children to government officials like child protective services. Many more examples could be provided, but this alone should be enough to raise the alarm of American parents who believe that God has given them the responsibility and the right to raise their children according to their own values and beliefs, not those of the government.

As stated at the beginning, some of these “rights” sound vague, benign, or sometimes benevolent when first read. However, each is ultimately an open door to further control of our private family life by the federal government and the United Nations. As a whole and individually, they infringe or forsake our constitutional rights in multiple ways. In doing so, they spell the end of the American tradition of parenting. America’s future under this treaty can be forseen in the effects they are having in other countries (see www.parentalrights.org for more examples). Do we want our federal government to begin teaching our 4 years about sex like the Netherlands educational system does (based on same philosophy as the treaty? Especially when the United Nation’s idea of sex education at that age includes an explanation of masturbation? (4) Shouldn’t the parent decide upon the appropriate timing these discussions?

Stay tuned for the final part 5 in the series.


Footnotes

(1) Web posted letter from National Right to Life to US Congressmen: http://www.nrlc.org/Federal/ForeignAid/SenateCEDAWletter020107.html
(2) Catholic Exchange Article, CEDAW Committee Abortion Misinterpretations Infect Human Rights Committee, Sept. 11th, 2008, Samantha Singson. http://catholicexchange.com/2008/09/11/113696/
(3) United nations Report, Women and Health Mainstreaming the Gender Perspective into the Health Sector, Expert Group Meeting 28 Sept. to 2 October 1998. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/healthr.htm
(4) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, International Guidelines on Sexuality Education:…, June 2009 http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/world/082509_unesco.pdf