Compulsory-attendance laws force parents to send their children to public schools. These laws presume that the politicians we vote into office, our agents, have the right to take away parents' liberty and inalienable rights.
Compulsory education means that in America, contrary to the common view, we no longer live in the land of the free. Local and state governments that claim the right to control our children's education also claim, in effect, that they own our children's minds and lives for twelve years. That is an appallingly arrogant claim, especially in America.
One reason public schools get away with educational murder, year after year, is because local governments violate parents' liberty and parental rights with impunity. Local governments don't own or run food stores, auto showrooms, office-supply stores, or pre-schools and private colleges in America. Yet they own the public schools and control 1st through 12th grade education in America.
Do government officials have any right to dictate how we should educate our children? To answer this question, we have to examine what our Founding Fathers understood to be the real function of government. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson clearly stated the moral nature and purpose of government:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness-that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. . . ."
The Declaration of Independence affirms that we have natural rights as human beings to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It establishes the principle that we, the people, acting individually and by free consent, created our government only to protect and secure our natural rights as human beings. That is government's sole legitimate function.
Look again at the phrase from the Declaration that says, "governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." The "governed" means all the people, not just some, not a minority, and not a majority. It means that all citizens, including parents, have the same inalienable rights.
That phrase also means that government is our agent, not our master. It means that we, as free human beings, voluntarily grant limited powers to government for a specific purpose, to protect our natural rights. It means that government should only have those powers we specifically grant to it for that purpose.
Yet, nowhere in the Constitution is the word "education" mentioned. The Constitution did not give the federal government any right or power to control how parents educate their children. By implication, state governments do not have any such right or power either, because such a power would violate our fundamental liberties.
Nature and justice confirm that parents have the right to decide who educates their children. Like parents of all species, most human parents protect and nurture their children and teach them the skills and knowledge they need to survive. Parents in all cultures make teaching their children a first priority. Since reading, writing, and arithmetic are skills needed to prosper in a modern society, it stands to reason that most parents will find a way to teach these skills to their children if the means are available.
Joel Turtel is the author of "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents and Betray Our Children."
Website: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com,
Email: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com,
Phone: 718-447-7348.
Article Copyrighted ? 2005 by Joel Turtel.
NOTE: You may post this Article on another website only if you set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel's email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
Britain has a proud tradition of valiant armed forces and... Read More
All to often law makers and regulators create rules and... Read More
Despite their signature on the Biological Weapons Convention of 1975,... Read More
Are you happy with all this so-called security after 9-11?... Read More
You have probably heard of the Sarbaines Oxley Law (SOX)... Read More
Have you noticed that the when the service men who... Read More
The recent scathing remarks by High Court Judge Richard Mawrey... Read More
When North Americans discuss Cuba, they always focus the intense... Read More
We are having a problem in America with Public Notaries,... Read More
It cities across America water is an issue, the flow... Read More
Last week, the media coverage called the airplane crash in... Read More
Many people make a lot of money in war. In... Read More
The US Homeland Security is worried about Hydrofoil or Skimmer... Read More
There are many types of fuels besides that gasoline we... Read More
The gun control debate in America is a battle between... Read More
In every national budget, there is a part called "Public... Read More
Mexico the country of Salsa, Tortillas and Corruption; I first... Read More
This is the fourth and final article in a series... Read More
Do you find it interesting that people complain about the... Read More
There's a new Michigan state register (at https://www.protectmichild.com/) in the... Read More
Everyone knows the United States Government often falls down in... Read More
IN A DAY AND AGE where one voice screaming among... Read More
I have to be honest. It is time to come... Read More
Which companies are most affected by fuel? Who really bears... Read More
Handing over power to Vladimir Putin in 1999, Boris Yeltsin... Read More
group transportation logistics management Highland ..I like Bill O'Reilly. I do. I have read two... Read More
Believe it or not, every theatre, church, or Britney Spears... Read More
Legislation was introduced into Congress this week that would establish... Read More
I hear it all the time; you can't say that.... Read More
America is filled with standouts and perserverance; our nation has... Read More
I always have to remember to take a deep breath... Read More
Just because we have been leading the World in innovation... Read More
At the start of the US involvement in WWII Joseph... Read More
The UnbornWith all this cloning in the news one can't... Read More
In every national budget, there is a part called "Public... Read More
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Men desire power. Give power to... Read More
We have read about the unemployment rate being high. Really... Read More
Osama bin Laden probably needs to get a pay raise,... Read More
In the last Gulf War we saw thousands of enemy... Read More
"Rugged individualism" is actually a euphemism for Thomas Hobbes' baseless... Read More
Handing over power to Vladimir Putin in 1999, Boris Yeltsin... Read More
Yes, Bush is two-faced. The two sides of the faces... Read More
Recently on C-SPAN, there were two gentlemen debating free trade... Read More
Even the most devout proponents of free marketry and hidden... Read More
Let's put the religious part of the debate for a... Read More
Tulipmania - this is the name coined for the first... Read More
It looks overall like the liberals are advocating for no... Read More
In order to build a stronger, more self-sufficient America, America... Read More
Despite their signature on the Biological Weapons Convention of 1975,... Read More
Amnesty International comments on the proposal that has been laid... Read More
Political |