In this article from BREIBART.COM, John Edwards waxes religious when he states his belief that children should be allowed to pray at school. He thinks that "allowing time for children to pray for themselves, to themselves, I think is not only OK, I think it's a good thing." But of course, he's not for teacher led prayer. That would be approaching the point of coercion and we can't have government employees taking the lead in such a personal and private action.
I am not going to pick on John Edwards for his statements and forced religious jargon. Many Democrats have taken up the religious mantle in their political quests of late and the Republicans have consistently done so for decades. So this is nothing new.
What hasn't changed in all the talk about education, political and otherwise, is the stark reality of the law in the United States. Oh sure, we have all kinds of rhetoric being thrown around the many legal battles over the rights of parents in the raising of their children, but the fundamental truth is glossed over with heated words dealing with other, more trite legal subjects.
Ever so often, the truth trickles out of a court case and its written opinion which sheds a ray of light on the darkness of the legal landscape. Such is the case in Massachusetts, as reported by WorldNetDaily, initiated by the parents of two families after their children were exposed to graphic presentations without prior notice according to law. U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf dismissed all Federal aspects of this case while also dismissing all state aspects but leaving the option to have the facts ruled upon at the state level. The opinion, though, tells all who will listen, what their present freedoms are regarding education as well as their options should they choose to forego exercising that fundamental freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment to the united States Constitution.
First, the fundamental freedom.
Judge Wolf states that "Parents do have a fundamental right to raise their children." This statement is significant in light of this decision being decried as " every parent's nightmare," by Mass Resistance, a parents rights advocacy group. Here we have a case brought by parents being dismissed, yet the parents are informed what their rights are! Wow!!!! Is anyone listening or reading? Anyone with the slightest legal knowledge knows that a fundamental right is the highest form of right. Pursuant to the Constitution, it cannot be taken away, but will be protected by government officials and, yes, even Judges. Could it be that the parents in this case don't really know the type of right they are attempting to exercise?
Second, the next aspect of this fundamental freedom.
Immediately following the above statement, Judge Wolf says, "They are not required to abandon that responsibility to the state." This statement is doubly significant in that it gets to the heart of the reason that this decision is "every parent's nightmare." When it comes to parents raising their children, parents are not required to send their child to a state regulated institution, nor are they or their children required to participate in activity regulated by the State! If and when a parent does, they must submit to the rules and laws of the state governing their own institutions. It's that simple!
If a parent chooses to raise their children themselves, the State cannot interfere, outside of criminal activity, because the State has no jurisdiction over such private exercises of a fundamental right. Neither can a judge officially recommend a possible course of action for the parents to take in exercising such right.
In light of this last fact, Judge Wolf continues his opinion by telling all what the options are for the two families, as well as all other families, who have abandoned their children to the State by placing them in Public Schools. They can choose to send them to Private Schools or Homeschool them, both of which are regulated by the State.
For most, this fundamental issue will be lost amidst the uproar over the Radical Gay Rights agenda being forced upon students and parents. Sadly , so will a generation of children, simply because their parents didn't know any better. So much for Christian Attoneys!
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