To be very clear - We are completely in favor of protecting children. Absolutely. However, based on statements from socially left-leaning policy makers, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Treaty is obviously being staged as a battering ram to be used against the "traditional" family, ultimately harming the very children they want to protect!
So, if the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Treaty is indicative of a problem, then what is our proposed solution?
Good question.
Ingeniously, some of the foremost thinkers in "Christian" legal circles have proposed a constitutional amendment to secure the rights of fit parents. The PRA or Parental Rights Amendment has been drafted with the intent of heading off the what many see as a critically dangerous trend toward state control over the functions of the family. You must visit their site or an array of others and study the arguments yourself, as that is not the point of this posting. However, I've quoted the following from their site...
The only kind of law that can override a treaty is the Constitution of the United States. State laws or state constitutions cannot override treaties. There is no guarantee that federal statutes could override treaties—moreover, we enter a binding legal promise to obey a treaty when we ratify it. America should not promise to obey a treaty and then claim it is appropriate to obey the treaty only when we want to. America of all nations must respect the rule of law.
There is only one possible solution for the eroding support for parental rights in the Supreme Court that can also stop the encroachment of international law.
We need to place the time-honored test of parental rights, as recognized by the Supreme Court for over seventy years, into the explicit text of the Constitution.
We cannot wait until our rights are formally demolished. We must act now to stop international law and protect these two key principles:
· Fit parents should be allowed to direct the upbringing of their children.
· American legislators, not international tribunals, should make the public policy for America on families and children.
In a nutshell that is the point of the amendment. But there is a problem. Who knows, or worse yet, who cares? I haven't seen any related banners, billboards, or television commercials. Who is getting out the word, and is the communication effective?
I recently attended a seminar co-sponsored by associates of the Parental Rights crowd, where the precious and spirited Beverly LaHaye spoke. Among the topics she broached was the downward spiral of our society. (Granted, this is nothing new.) She claimed that the largely uncontested and underestimated battles against prayer in school, and for homosexual marriage were the elephants in the room 20-30 years ago. No one cared to address them; those that did obviously failed to light up the night; thus, here are those pachyderms stampeding our children today. She made the clear point that we have another elephant in the room.
I agree with her that we need to step up and recognize the tusks, ears, and huge piles covered with flies for what they are. Unfortunately that same seminar, which spent much time on this very issue, sent me away with an ironic dilemma:
How do we communicate our concerns to our friends and neighbors? I'm a Christian and have many Christian friends who will understand my Biblical reasons for opposing the UNCRC. However, there are simple common sense reasons for more than just my Christian friends to become active in this fight. A united effort is essential for the PRA to pass.
In this series of posts, that question has been the foundation for my writing. How do we communicate this need? I respect the ParentalRights.org crowd deeply, but at this point they preach to the choir. In order to get a Parental Rights Amendment signed, we need to move out of the pulpit and into the public. What is preached to the choir will be disregarded by those less inclined to sing. I believe that our manner and tone must be different when communicating outside traditional Christian circles. And, though fear and sensationalism are fine for the media, we frankly weary of the emotion, and that certainly isn't the tack we want to take.
For example, do we think that the authors of the CRC had the undermining of the US justice system, the US family, and the Christian faith in mind when composing that document? Possibly, but not likely just like that, or at least not in that order. So why would we attack the treaty as if that was the intent of the treaty? I don't think we should.
Here are some words / concepts that I think may help us reach a broader audience with regard to the UNCRC...
Expensive.
Misguided.
Tedious.
Irrelevant.
Superfluous.
Waste - in regard to our legislators' time.
Excessive burden on already over-burdened social workers.
Likewise, here are some words / concepts that may help our audience understand the importance of the PRA...
Timing.
Morality.
Judicial indiscretion.
Family autonomy.
Diplomacy is not just for diplomats. These views must be communicated and not just preached. Preaching is what is emitted from bumper stickers, while communication must involve your time.
But then, what good is knowing what to say if we choose not to speak? On May 3rd I attended a Holocaust Memorial Service at Temple Sinai in Oakland, CA and was reminded by one of the speakers of the famous Edmund Burke quote - "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Interestingly, the actual origin of that quote has not been discovered, though some suspect that it rises from Burke's Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents, "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle."
Either way it is speaks to us today. It speaks to this issue.
Action Steps:
- The PRA website has a great page that lays out how to help in this fight.
- Start talking about it!
- We will try to keep this issue alive here at Lamp Lit. Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, or observations.
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