100 years ago today, the United States Supreme Court unanimously decided the case of Pierce v. Society of Sisters, a landmark blow in favor of parental rights. The Court’s bold words deserve to be recalled today:
“The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations” (268 US 535).
Pierce arose because, amidst post-World War I anti-Catholic activism, Oregon adopted by referendum a law that required all children in the state to attend public schools only. A parent who enrolled his child in a Catholic school would commit a misdemeanor by failing to comply with Oregon’s compulsory school attendance law.
An order of nuns operating a parochial school brought suit, and the Supreme Court struck down Oregon’s rule, insisting the state had no right to homogenize education because parents have the right to determine how their child is brought up.
That last statement has been recognized for eons as a self-evident truth. British and American common law treated it as a basic legal principle. In that sense, Pierce simply reaffirmed our legal tradition.
Let’s not fail to see how far some people want to deviate from it.
The Supreme Court will decide this month the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor. The case comes from Montgomery County, a large school district that borders Washington, D.C. Montgomery County adopted a sex education curriculum including components for preschoolers through fifth grade. That curriculum treats the gender ideology agenda as completely normal and to be taught to children who still probably have not been exposed to addition. To top it off, despite Maryland law to the contrary, Montgomery County refused to allow parents to opt out of the curriculum. Outraged parents sued and the case was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in April.
Parent’s Rights Initiative” as a one-point clearinghouse for information in this area. You might want to bookmark it.
A century has passed since the Supreme Court clearly declared kids are “not creatures of the state.” Neither are parents “domestic terrorists” for protecting their rights or for standing up to school boards intent on abridging those rights. Today’s civil rights movement is about recapturing rights that don’t depend on the state to exist.
Image: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
Jesus Christ is King
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