Parents & Children
The Role of Parents
Parents serve a vital role in the life of their children. Family and cultural traditions help to make up the many and varied perspectives which contribute to the rich and diverse pool of experiences that make up the American culture.
Parents provide the genetic code for their children. Physical and personality traits we get from our ancestors are a vital aspect of our identity. The term a “chip off the old block” is derived from this reality. When we, as children, are compared (positively) to our ancestors through common traits and physical characteristics, we gain a sense of belonging, permanence, and significance.
Knowing one’s family history can also enlighten them to cultural pitfalls they may want to avoid if there is a familial history of negative behaviors and outcomes. There is also the benefit of knowing medical background that can be passed on in the genetic code. In other words, there is no replacement for family. Adoptive families can provide these same types of positive influences apart from genetic issues.
What it boils down to is that the State is not the family. The State is to be a servant of the family not a usurper of the family.
Protecting the Innocence of Children
As a society we should seek to preserve the innocence off children. Over the past several years the conflict over what is appropriate and inappropriate material and or activities has been a hotbed for controversy. It is as if competing political and social influences have purposely set their sights on the most innocent among us to sway them to their side as early as possible.
Once again, the family culture can find itself under attack if its norms conflict with prevailing “political winds”. Finding themselves in the crosshairs of adults with agendas, children are losing their innocence faster than ever.
For generations we have not let children smoke, drive, get tattoos, join the military, get a credit card, etc. Even auto insurance companies set their rates, in part, based upon the age and sex of drivers knowing brain development affects decision making and consequence prediction.
How is it that we do not extrapolate from these realities that allowing adults to influence children regarding sexuality, gender reassignment, and a host of other issues is not a good thing? Suicide rates are higher among gender confused individuals. We have a real problem that must be addressed.
Children cannot accurately project into the future the consequences of life altering choices. Adults are far more capable of making decisions that are life altering and potentially harmful. We should be protecting our children, even from their own poor choices, not indulging them.
Government and Children
Governments in Europe are putting the brakes on some gender reassignment practices. The government should help families from various backgrounds address these complex issues without picking “winners and losers”. Laws should allow for a diversity of thought and not mandate conformity.
There is not unanimity of thought in the medical field on this subject. When financial and political influences are considered the objectivity of decision makers is rightly called into question. We must not allow our most valuable resource, our children, to be subjected to unalterable surgeries and risky practices.