Some Parents Need Your Help!

Diane Robertson

Four years ago Swedish socials service officials took, seven-year-old, Dominic Johansson from his parents as the family boarded an international flight. Armed police seized the boy without arrest warrants.  Swedish officials placed him in a foster home. The boy has still not been restored to his parents, Christer and Annie Johansson.

What heinous crime did the Johansson’s commit? What did they do to their son to warrant such extreme actions from the Swedish government? They homeschooled Dominic. This happened before homeschooling was made illegal in the nation.

After 3 years, the Johansson’s finally got their case reviewed by a district court in Gotland. The court said it could not ignore the unanimous and extensive testimony of firsthand accounts of friends, family and others that Domenic Johansson was being properly cared for by his parents. The court restored the Johanssons’ parental rights. However, social services persisted and a mi-level court over turned the decision. Domenic, now at 11, has not been allowed to see his parents for 3 years!

Alliance Defending Freedom along with the United States based, Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), has appealed Christer and Annie Johansson’s case to the highest court of Sweden.

HSLDA Director of International Relations Mike Donnelly and attorney with ADF has said:

“As the district court found, Annie and Christer Johansson are good parents. It is unconscionable that the court of appeals–or any court in a democratic country like Sweden–could somehow think that it is in Dominic’s best interest to remain separated from his parents. The pain, suffering, and harm done to this family are incalculable.”

Alliance Defending Freedom and HSLDA are encouraging concerned people from all over the world to participate in an HSLDA-sponsored letter-writing campaign that asks the Supreme Court of Sweden to accept the case Johansson v. Gotland Social Services and return Domenic to his parents.

Please take a moment and help this family, and parental rights around the world. Here is how to contact that Supreme Court of Sweden.

 Swedish Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen):

Email: hogsta.domstolen@dom.se

Mailing address: Högsta domstolen, Box 2066, 103 12 Stockholm, Sweden

A 1-oz letter from the US will cost $1.10 through the Postal Service

Fax: From outside Sweden: +46 8 561 666 86  If you fax from the U.S., you will need to replace the + sign with “011” and then dial 46 8 561 666 86  From inside Sweden: 08-561 666 86

Remembering CSW

Rachel Allison

This week is the final week of the “Commission on the Status of Women,” a conference being held at the United Nations in New York City.  United Families International has several volunteers at the UN working to influence pro-life and pro-family language into the outcome documents that will soon become International Law.

As important as this lobbying is, those in our delegation also have opportunity to support women who have come from all over the world to speak to UN delegations concerning their difficult situations at home. Until we hear their stories many of us cannot fathom the situations these good women are experiencing.  In past years I have heard women speak about human slave and sex trafficking.  Their laws and police force do not protect them or their children from such atrocities.   I have heard women talk about watching other women stoned to death without trial or jury.  I have heard women talk about laws that do not protect their 10, 11, and 12 year-old daughters from being bought and subjected to marriage and pregnancy…pregnancy that often causes the unborn baby to die within the womb of the child bride because her body is not mature enough to give birth.

I’m not at CSW (Commission on the Status of Women) this year, but I am trying to read as much as I can about what is happening as they try to direct this year’s focus on eliminating violence against women. I just read an article by someone who is at the conference.  His words brought back vivid memories of needs and concerns that are too often sidelined.

“During the waning days of the conference’s first week and well into this most recent weekend,  I watched and listened as African women discussed and debated the all-important Outcome Document amongst themselves.  Luckily for me, English is their common language and as I sat beside them in the Business Center of our clean but quite modest hotel late into the night on Saturday AND Sunday, I heard their concerns.”

“They are worried about their daughter’s AND son’s education; they want access to potable water in the more remote regions of their respective countries; more doctors, and in keeping with          this year’s conference theme, they want real life-and-death protection for their daughters.”

As I read his article, I was taken back to the years when I attended CSW, and my heart went out to these women who are desperate for help.  I have personally seen women who have to walk miles for potable water.  I have seen the small dark tents where 15+ children huddle to be taught reading and simple arithmetic. I have seen villages whose only “doctor” is a witch doctor who uses the same needle on his patients until it is too dull to be used again.  I have seen mother’s grieve over the loss of a child to dehydration, snakebite, and disease when there was no medicine or help to save.

We who can’t imagine raising a family in such living conditions should count our blessings, and determine that we will give selflessly to strengthen our families, and then support causes that can lift and help the struggling.

Because I have seen what I have seen, and experienced what I have experienced, I cannot, without guilt, spend time on the trivial.  I’m grateful for that guilt.  There are causes too vital not to get involved.  I try to examine my priorities every day. And then I pray like the dickens that my efforts will make a difference.

Children must be Taught…and Taught…and Taught…

Rachel Allison

How many times did I teach my children the same principle? And how many times did I remind them of what was required, and what was expected?  Probably just as often as I was reminded when I was a child and adolescent. Teaching a child correct habits and behavior is paramount to their life success.  Teaching goes with the territory of good parenting. The difficult part is reminding them patiently and without judgment.  Yes, that is definitely the difficult part.

“Be kind.” “Hang up your clothes.” “Go outside to wrestle.” “Do your homework.” “Share.” “Stand up straight.” “Did you floss?” “Get your work done.” “Chew with your mouth closed.”  ”Wipe your feet.” “Close the door.”  ”Make your bed.”….  Does any of this sound familiar?

My husband repeats this couplet quite often to me:

[Children] must be taught as if you’ve taught them not,

And things unknown proposed as things forgot. (Alexander Pope)

We teach and nurture with the hopes that when our children mature and leave home our teachings will follow them out the door?  We can hope and pray so.  But simply because our children turn 18 and go on to college or the military or to their own apartment doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be aware of the occasional teaching opportunities. We need to be aware that at this point of their lives they are being influenced and taught by their roommates, fellow students, professors, bosses and work associates.  These “influencers” may have a completely different set of values and principles guiding their behavior in life.

Because our eighteen to twenty-five year old children are still learning, and they are still learning… our influence is still important.  I’m not advocating  “helicopter parenting,” but the decisions made during that crucial 18-25+ year period will have lasting impact on our children’s futures.  Because they are still our children, we can’t have the mind set, “My work is finished…they are on their own.”  Unfortunately society and the media target the 18-25+ year old audience with much that entices and attracts, but which also misleads and even destroys.

Just last night we received a phone call from one of our adult children that signaled red flags on the near horizon.  Concern kept me awake until well past midnight, so I decided to write a letter to my 30+ year-old son.

Again the couplet spoke to me…

Men must be taught as if you’ve taught them not,

And things unknown proposed as things forgot.

My letter was a reminder to:

Prioritize your life.

Family comes first.

Pride will blur your vision of the most important goals and purposes in your life right now.

Eliminate everything unnecessary that is causing stress.

Don’t run faster than you have strength.

Focus on the most important.

Work to balance your life.

My husband will follow up with a phone call to our son after he has had time to read my letter.  Hopefully my advice will ring true to his core beliefs.  He has been taught these principles, but the difficult situation he is battling has caused him to forget.

I strongly believe that the teachings in the home become an integral part of our children’s lives.  If at some point they become distracted and forget those teachings, eventually they will come back to that grounding given in a loving home.  That belief has given me a lot of hope as I have experienced disappointment with some of my children’s decisions.  It’s more than a responsibility…it’s my duty to love them, encourage them, and continue to council and advise. Good parenting never ends.  The demands change from being physically exhausting to emotionally exhausting, and these precious children are worth it all.

Need a Cause? Protect the Family

Rachel Allison

I’m going to admit to something that very few people know.  During those crazy busy years when my children were at home, I never read the newspaper.  I just didn’t have time. Every waking minute I was occupied with feeding, clothing, cleaning, teaching, arbitrating, carpooling, communicating, appointment keeping, music practicing…all of which focused around my five active children. Our home and neighborhood were our world.  Like I said…it was crazy busy but it was also crazy wonderful.

Generally speaking today’s busy mothers are much more tuned into their outside world.  For those who are interested, computers and Smart Phones have made the world very accessible.

Good, because you busy young mothers need to be aware of what is taking place in your children’s schools, destructive apps that are available on their phones, the studies on television viewing, and many more issues that directly affect your children’s lives.

I believe it when I hear,  “having four children today keeps parents as busy as eight children just two generations earlier.”

My heart goes out to parents and children who are struggling to keep focused on issues and learning that will lift and empower toward successful happy futures. There is so much garbage to walk through, and the burden of maneuvering through that garbage falls on Mom and Dad.  They need help!

There are battles to be waged and warnings to be given.  Men and women who have time to openly and courageously fight battles to preserve and protect the family are needed now more than ever before.  There are many causes in the world, and I’m pretty sure our readers are involved in some good ones.  Evaluate your causes, and if you see a need to elevate…what better cause than the family. Get involved in your neighborhood school curriculum reviews.  Be alert to what is happening in your state legislature, and rally like-minded people to visit your legislators about your concerns. Write letters to the editor.  Be aware of what is going on in your city…go to your city council meetings.  Defend the family.  Get involved.  Read the news that is impacting families throughout the world.  You will soon realize how many are working to destroy the family as we know it. This work cannot be left to busy Moms and Dads.  They are in the “trenches” taking care of their children’s immediate needs.  But those of us whose children are grown have the time…and we certainly see the value.

“The family is the corner stone of our society. More than any other force it shapes the attitude, the hopes, the ambitions, and the values of the child. And when the family collapses it is the children that are usually damaged. When it happens on a massive scale the community itself is crippled. So, unless we work to strengthen the family, to create conditions under which most parents will stay together, all the rest – schools, playgrounds, and public assistance, and private concern – will never be enough…”
 Lyndon Johnson

Parental Rights: Who Cares the Most?

 

Fedeline Morrow and Olivia Burton

In communist Russia the average parent was not respected or considered important.  Rather, children were considered “property of the state” since children were the state’s future.  In the system of government in Russia, parents were considered the genetic source for children and the state was the upbringing, even though the parents felt otherwise. Russia’s strict regimen of child upbringing during its communist era is seeping more and more into our time and is disrespecting the parents’ rights over their children to raise the child based on the child’s needs.

The communist pretense for such a strict regime was to benefit the state and society.  Fast forward to today, local, federal, and state governments expand their power in an effort to protect children, but that expansion of power is also taking away the power of the parents to raise their children.  So where do you draw the line between protecting the child and dictating to parents how to raise a child?

Increasing Government Over-Reach

Delaware just passed an anti-spanking law that could potentially jail a parent for 1-4 years for spanking their children since the spanking or discipline does not fall under the state’s regulations of child care.   The Ninth and Sixth District Courts stated that parent involvement in their child’s education ended and, “their influence stopped at the [school] door.”  This begs the question, “What exactly are child rights and when do parental rights begin and end?”

The following is an analogy we can glean from the modern history of Russia.  The goal of the modern Bolshevik movement was to create a utopian society.  The way to do this was to “[prepare] the way for a time when ‘the fetters of husband and wife would become ‘obsolete’.”  The goal was to make everyone united under the state and dissolve any associations to anything other than the state.  How has this been mirrored in our own society?  The U.N. issued an international binding law known as the Rights of the Child that gives national and local governments any power necessary to intervene for the “best interest for the child”.  The United States has yet to ratify this document and bind itself to this law.  But remember:  what or who defines what is the “best interest for the child”?

In November, Ireland approved an amendment to their national constitution that would put them in compliance with the U.N.’s Rights of the Child.  According to this new amendment, the state decides what the best interests of the child are.  Many believe that this amendment will diminish the rights of parents and give the Irish government nearly unbridled power to seize children.  Under this amendment, it is reported that the State can: place children for adoption against the parent’s will, decide to vaccinate children without parental or child consent, decide to give birth control to children of any age, bring children to other countries for abortions without parental consent, and the UN and the European Union can make any laws for children without the consent of the Irish Government.  Is this the future for parents in other parts of the world as well?  It may be if we don’t realize the threat and take action.

Currently in the U.S., children’s rights are decided state-to-state and court-to-court.  Child Protective Services (CPS) often holds the power to define what is safe for the child and in the child’s best interest.  If the state and the CPS define what is safe for the child, then the parents have no say.  In a case in Seattle, Washington a young woman started to get into drugs and sex and naturally the parents intervened and work to end the self-destructive behavior.  This created conflict, but under Washington law the Department of Social Health and Services had authority to take the young girl from her parents based on the fact that there was conflict.  The parents appealed the decision.  They lost the appeal and their daughter was taken away from them.  After the decision was made the judges admitted that they concurred with the actions of the parents, but the state law had to be enforced.  The law defined the rights of the child and it took precedence over the rights of the parent to raise their child.

Parents need to take responsibility for their children and exercise their rights as parents.  You have innate parental rights, yet it is important that we foster, teach, and display good parenting skills and habits.  Governments need to be reminded that it is parents, with few exceptions, that know their children and more than anyone else have their best interests at heart.  But we also must be focused on doing the best job of raising our children!   Children need to be raised by kind, involved parents who know them personally and what is best for them, not by some government agency that claims to be acting in the best interests of the child, but is taking power that is not theirs.

So get involved in your child’s life and guard against those who advocate to take away your parental rights.

 Fedeline Morrow is currently attending BYU-Idaho studying Child Development and will be graduating in April.   She is originally from Florida and has been married for just over a year.  She says:  “it was the best day of my life. “  Fedeline is passionate about the family and protecting our future generations, which are our children.  

Olivia Burton is currently in her senior year at BYU-Idaho.  She is studying Child Development with a minor in Piano Pedagogy.  She loves learning about children and the family and hopes to use her education as a means to protect the family as the essential unit of society.

Education: Third Cycle, Is there Hope?

Maddi Gillel

Editor’s note:  This is the third in a series on education.  To see “The High Water Mark,” go here, the second article, “The Nose Dive,” is here.

The value of the second cycle is that many have learned the hard way what works to make a country strong, healthy, prosperous, safe, and independent  in every way.

In his book Back to Basics: The Traditionalist Movement That is Sweeping Grassroots America, Burton Yale Pines expressed the yearning of the vast majority of Americans to get America back on track.  There is a call for reform in many areas:

1-     A revival of quality education by the national  commission (A Nation at Risk: The  Imperative for Educational Reform)

2-     A return to the free- market system with less intervention by government so that millions of new jobs can be created.

3-     A restoration of moral and spiritual values in both private and public life.

4-     A reduction in taxes; federal, state, and local.

5-     Paying off the national debt.

6-     Turning public welfare programs into workfare, education, and job-creating opportunities instead of allowing millions of Americans to become permanently trapped on the poverty level.

( Burton Yale Pines)

There are many in our  society who are doing what they can to resist that which weakens our country and encourage that which makes our country strong and free once again.  There are websites that are forwarded  to thousands to keep others aware of the news of the day; there are blogs such as this one, to encourage strong families, financial responsibility, and a return to values;  many more of our representatives understand and uphold the constitution and know how this country should be governed; many families have remained sufficiently intact that they have been raised by parents and grandparents who lived during the high water mark of our society; technological knowledge is at an all- time high, which has its downside, but the upside is that more can stay abreast of advancements in every aspect of our society –law, medicine, marketing, agriculture, retailing, engineering, education, political science, etc.

Many parents recognize the weakness of the education system and choose to home school their children- and this has been going on for quite some time.  Those children are in turn growing up, getting married, and home schooling their own children.

A College/University education was at one time,  thought to be the only way to make a good living, but many are choosing the trades (plumbing, electricity, carpentry, masonry,)  which  is  less expensive, takes less time, and will afford an ability to provide for one’s family ( of course keeping a strong work ethic in mind).  Keep in mind, that one can do a lot of reading and studying about any subject on earth in his own spare time and become an ‘educated’ person – there is formal education and informal education and a truly ‘educated’ person depends on his own volition.

There are an increasing number who are becoming more aware of the democratic process and are staying in contact with their representatives – through technology.  We can even sign petitions ‘on line.’

More reporters and journalists and radio hosts are choosing to be independent of ‘political correctness’ and can thusly keep their readers/listeners  apprised of what the real story is, as opposed to sticking to the talking points-‘ business as usual.’

To sum up, it is no mystery why billions are poured into education.  The ‘powers- that- be’ know that they have got to protect this institution. They can then do as they wish so children are raised to think along the lines of:  indifference to education (reading, writing, and math) socialism, religious and moral apathy, subjection to outrageous behavior from others (bullying, assault, profanity, vulgarity, negative peer pressure, etc.) and a lack of understanding and appreciation of the constitution.

Once again, and as usual, the home is crucial in teaching our children values, reading, math, writing, citizenship, financial responsibility, and family stability.

There is hope.

Some “What Ifs” of Gay Marriage

Rachel Allison

All four of my sons are Eagle Scouts.  I helped all four of them prepare for any situation as they packed for those monthly campouts and annual scout camps.  I watched them think through the “what ifs” of all the situations for which the scouting program is famous. Our sons learned to analyze the possible problems and prepare accordingly for each eventuality. By the time they earned their Eagle status they got pretty good at it.  Fifteen years’ involvement in the scouting program taught me the importance of being prepared.  I learned to analyze and mentally document the “what ifs” of my own life and that of my family.  I also learned that I can’t just hope for a positive outcome.  I have to analyze, work, study and sacrifice so the outcomes or consequences of my decisions are best for my family.

Enter the Gay marriage movement.  I have to admit that much of the pro-Gay rhetoric is convincing.  “Two people love each other.”  “They are responsible adults.”  “They deserve to be happily married under the law.”

Where should I stand on this issue?   Let me analyze from a mother/grandmother’s perspective.

We are a family who believes in God and the Bible.  I can’t force others, nor do I want to force others to believe as we do.  But if I accept gay marriage, the “what ifs” tell me that my Pastor might be prosecuted and even jailed if he preaches against the gay lifestyle. …or if he refuses to perform a marriage ceremony.  It has happened in other parts of the world.  It could happen here.  Could the Gay movement then become so emboldened as to shut the doors of my church, which would infringe on my families’ weekly devotionals?  As I watch the Constitution being violated on several fronts already, I must stand by principles that protect my religion and my right to worship.  My faith is too dear to not seriously analyze that “what if.”

Do I want my grandchildren reading about “Prince Ferdinand” and “Prince Edmond” who marry and live happily ever after? No I do not.  But it is already happening, in many of the elementary schools across our nation.  If gay marriage is legalized, the advancement of that type of propaganda will increase more and more blatantly as the years pass. Why?  Because there are many leaders in the Gay community who want to indoctrinate.  These leaders will not be content with just getting the right to marry. As I have done my research, I have seen it.  This indoctrination is blatant. And I don’t want my grandchildren confused by this in-your-face rhetoric from the gay advocates with a proselyting agenda. Again, I have done my homework.  I have been to their meetings.  There are Gays who are openly proselyting.

The Gay movement is well-organized.  There are battles being fought on all sides. They now appear to be gaining major ground with respect to the Boy Scouts of America.  I know there are Gays whose only purpose is to become a part of the scouting movement. But when one defines himself by his sexual practices, innocent boys will too quickly become not so innocent.  Nope.  I would not be willing to expose my sons to that education at the young age of 11 and 12.

I don’t pretend to be all knowing on this subject.  But I have studied and observed.  Gay marriage is just one major step of their agenda, but there are many more steps waiting to be implemented when the Gay-marriage laws are in place. I hope that we aren’t so naïve as to think this gay movement is just about the love of two responsible adults being given the right to marry.   For many Gays, the agenda is much more far-reaching.  If you don’t believe me, do your homework and you will begin to recognize all the “what ifs.”

Precious Memories Lost or Created…Parents Choose Wisely

Rachel Allison

Reading Ann Bailey’s article about the studies that have come out against the Federal Government’s Head Start preschool program must be discouraging to those whose intentions may have been positive and even altruistic.  But the years of time and effort and billions of dollars poured into the program have proven a failure.

Who lost out? The innocent children who were used as Guiney pigs to boost the ego of brainstorming government employees who thought that they had devised a program that was better than a mother’s love and the security of home environment. What does a child need and long for more than anything else in the world? Quantity and quality time spent with their mother.

Who else lost out? The mothers who forfeited memories made with their precious pre-schoolers.

You may say, “But it was a program for poor families.”  I remember the families in my hometown who sent their children to Head Start.  The mothers loved their children.  They may have qualified for government assistance, but they were good mothers.  They mistakenly thought they were giving their children an advantage, when in reality they were giving up precious time and memories with their child for a program that failed.  Again, what does a child need and long for more than anything else in the world?  Quantity and quality time spent with their mother.

Can you sense my emotion?  For the past two weeks I have been following through on a New Year’s Resolution.  I have spent hours compiling a memory album of my children.  Each photo represents a precious memory I have with them. Each hour spent on the project has stirred emotions that have brought me close to tears. If I could I would go back in time and do it all again.

Young mothers and fathers…May I emphasize that no one will love and care for your children as well as you.  Love them. Teach them. Spend as much time with them as you possibly can.  Enjoy them, and allow them to enjoy you.  Your memories will create a valuable anchor to your soul that you will cherish more and more as the years advance. Trust me on this one.  I think it may even be a natural law.

Video Gaming: Be Very Careful

Rachel Allison

This post may offend some of our readers.  If I say something that hits too close to home, just honestly evaluate your child’s involvement and if necessary ignore my observations.

My children grew up during the skate-board craze in our neighborhood.  All of their friends owned expensive skateboards and I was aware that they practiced all kinds of tricks and stunts for hours and hours everyday and into the night right in front of our house.  While these friends practiced their skateboard maneuvers, our children were doing homework, practicing the piano, doing chores, and spent lots of time being miserable as they watched all the fun taking place right outside on our street.  My husband and I couldn’t afford to buy our children such a “toy,” but still they continued to ask for skateboards for Christmas or birthdays.  Finally we gave in, and I purchased my two oldest $20 skateboards for Christmas.  LOL (Are you?)  A $20 skateboard is like buying clamp-on roller skates.  Our children were so excited on Christmas morning…which made me very happy.  When all the neighborhood kids showed up, many with newer and more improved skateboards, our children went out to join in the fun and excitement.  They soon learned that they could not do any of the tricks, nor could they get any speed on their skateboards.  It didn’t take long for them to tire of the sport, and they got involved in activities where they could excel. Whew!  Battle over.

Now, let me correct a previous statement.  “My husband and I couldn’t afford to buy our children such a “toy.”” And yet we purchased a piano, and our children all took piano lessons.  One of our children was a gifted gymnast, and the money we paid out for group and private tutoring was more than I want to share with our readers. Violin lessons, scout camps, guitar lessons, singing lessons, and sport’s camps…somehow we could afford all these.  So what was different about skateboarding?  The culture.  (This is where I might start to step on toes.)  I silently watched the skateboard culture.  The dress, the hair, the language, the attitude, and I didn’t want my children to be a part of it. At least, this was what I observed from the skateboarders in our neighborhood. They didn’t have the time or desire to get involved with any of the previously mentioned activities that I wanted our children involved in. I knew all of their parents, and I watched as their parents may have pushed music or scouting or studies, but the skateboarding won out, and nothing else positive was seriously pursued.

My children are grown, and are all successfully pursuing their dreams.  I don’t know if skateboarding is still the craze that it was 25 years ago.  What I see and hear about now is the video gaming craze.  Would I buy video games for my children if they were still at home?  Absolutely not!  I don’t care how badly they wanted them.  Why?  Because I see what is happening in the video-gaming culture: Addictions, obsessions, often violence, and too often the shunning of everything else that is positive and worthwhile.  That is something I would protect my children from as if it were a drug. In fact I have heard that it is as powerful a draw as any drug.

I have a friend whose husband…do I need to point out that this is a grown man?…was so addicted to video games that he wouldn’t go to work?  She had to provide an income for the family.  With him, and without him, because she left him after three years of seeing no improvement.

Why would any wise parent put such a temptation in front of their children?  Because all their friends have video games? Bad decision as far as I’m concerned.

I ran across a blog this morning that I want to share.  It helps make my point.

“I wanted to open up the topic of video game addictions. It never seemed to be a big deal to me until recently. My oldest son has become              completely obsessed with a video game, and it is starting to worry me.  He only cares about playing his game- he doesn’t spend time with his             friends anymore, nor does he want to be around me or the rest of the family for that matter.

He used to be really committed to his education (he is fresh out of high school) and pursuing a career, but that seems to be unimportant to him now. I am afraid that if he does not quit playing the game soon, he will miss his chance to accomplish his dreams. It breaks my heart as a father to see him making the kind of decisions that I know he will regret later.  Is anyone else experiencing a similar situation with their children?  I could really use some advice on this.”

One more observation.  My husband and I ran into an old friend this past weekend. During our conversation he said that his 33-year-old daughter plays video games all day.  I know this girl.  She was a good friend to one of my sons.  She was talented musically, and lots of fun to be with.  He shared with us that while she plays video games, she puts her four children in front of movies so that they will leave her alone.

Need I write more?

What a culture!  Parents, before they even start, don’t let it happen.

Acceptance of Diversity or All-out Indoctrination?

Rachel Allison

Just over eighteen months ago a friend of mine heard about a program being presented at a high school across town.  It was advertised as a  Pinal County LGBTQ Youth Summit.  (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) Recognizing that such a program could prove provocative, we decided to sit in on the event.

There were several teachers, and adult presenters, but my friend and I were the only parents in attendance. There were probably forty students who attended the mini conference.   All were asked to sign in with name and contact information.

Among other pro-gay groups, “One in Ten” Leadership was at this summit to promote safety and acceptance of those who are in the above category.  They claim that eighty percent of their work is helping schools, counselors, and administrations create safe schools for transgendered youth. But they also admit that their camps promote ways to empower youth who think they are or may be LGBTQ.

An openly gay young man conducted the program.  But before the meeting even started he had worked the crowd and had won us all over with his charisma and charm.  He talked to all of us for just a few minutes about the support his team was there to offer, and then a video clip from ABC news was shown that depicted the fatal effects that bullying had on a heterosexual young man. I hate bullying, and this film portrayed its cruelty.  Of course our hearts went out to the young man in the video…but we were a bit confused by the presentation of heterosexual bullying when the presentation was supposed to be about gay/lesbian/transgender/bisexual abuse.  We didn’t know if there were documented cases of gay bullying or not, but they didn’t discuss it if there were.

At this point in the presentation it was announced that all the adults were supposed to go to one classroom, and all the youth were to go to another classroom.  This did not sit well with either my friend or me, but we recognized ourselves as “outsiders” in this group so we followed orders.  We were “taught” that there is a difference between sex and gender.  We were told that expanding our understanding to include a gender spectrum may be challenging, uncomfortable and even painful…that it requires bucking a lifetime of training, socialization, assumptions and practice, and that it would challenge our moral, religious and cultural traditions…..  Well, their philosophy certainly does all that!  I tuned in and out of the dialogue, as I was more concerned about what was being taught to the vulnerable youth in the next classroom.

All of these memories came flooding back as I read the article posted on World Family News,  “Gorham Middle School Officials Apologize for Diversity Day Discussion.” According to the article Gorham Middle School recently hosted representatives of a group called PRYSM, Proud Rainbow Youth of Southern Maine, to talk about gender diversity and discrimination.  When it was learned that homosexual foreplay was discussed, the Principal knew a major apology was in order.

After reading the article, it would not surprise me if the very group that came to our city and state taught inappropriate dialogue to the youth who were alone in their classroom.   I wonder if adults were actually present at Gorham Middle School.  Perhaps the youth and adults were separated just like the presentation in Arizona that I attended.

Parents, please tune in to all that your children are being exposed to.  There are elements of society who would love nothing more than to indoctrinate the lonely, vulnerable and confused.  (Having had five teenagers I witnessed the lonely, vulnerable and confused moments of their pre-adult years OFTEN.)  If your child insists on attending diversity presentations offered at school, accompany him.  And whatever else happens, do NOT let him/her go into a room with Gay agenda promoters, unless accompanied by you or an adult that you trust COMPLETELY.