There is a great deal of discussion, and disagreement, regarding parental rights and responsibilities in the political environment of the USA presently. While most legal sources agree that the parents are the prime sources of proper nurturing and protection of the child, they also agree that outside resources are necessary to aid in achieving the goal of a happy, healthy, and well-educated child. After all,
the parent is not the "owner" of the child (and neither is the state).
With that said, what happens when parents do not meet their responsibilities in child-rearing? There is little societal disagreement regarding not tolerating physical (exception: corporal punishment) or emotional abuse, and/or failure to provide food, clothing, and shelter. However, the areas of health and education can present situations ripe for disagreement, especially if one's ideology is based on claims unsupported by evidence:
- Health: circumcision? vaccinations? birth-control? hormone replacement therapy? gender reassignment surgery? abortion? alternatives to medicine?
- Education: religious indoctrination? secular morality? evolution, and other sciences? history (of racism, inequality, colonialism, genocide, wars, greed, authoritarianism, individualism, communism, socialism, democracy, republicanism, tribalism, capitalism)?
What to do with all of this?
