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5/18/2010
Burri: Uncle Sam is parenting, for your own good
The Dad Talks. That’s what I call them. Drinking, drugs, sex, keeping your eyes on the road. The cumulative power of a small effort made each day. Only two of my children – the teenagers – have been through them, and will go through them again.
And, probably, again.
The thing is: I have no reason to believe any of my children have anything to do with drinking, drugs, or sex. They’re angels, my kids. Saints. Or maybe my wife is right, and I’m just another clueless parent who could never imagine his little darlings ever doing anything wrong, even when they do.
That’s one reason I give them the Dad Talks, needed or not. Another reason is: even if they’ve made all the right decisions so far, they could still make a wrong one tomorrow.
So I pre-empt. I instruct them anyway, and maybe that’s not fair. To the teenage mind, I don’t trust them. I'm treating them like delinquents.
If so, tough. They’re children, and I’m their father. It’s my job to keep them from making bad decisions until such time as they’re grown. After that, I'll just do it for fun.
That’s the relationship between a child and a parent. The child knows less; the parent knows more; the parent has the authority to force their greater knowledge on the child. For their own good.
It was a U.S. diplomatic visit to China that brought this to mind.
Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner was there last week. As usual, the U.S. contingent brought up Chinese human rights abuses and, Posner told the media, the two sides also discussed human rights… in America.
Specifically:
U.S. officials did not whitewash the American (human rights) record and in fact raised on its [sic] own a new immigration law in Arizona that requires police to ask about a person's immigration status if there is suspicion the person is in the country illegally.
Meaning: China didn’t bring up Arizona's immigration law. And why would they? China enforces their borders. The U.S. brought it up, as an example of human rights violations on our own side.
Later, in an interview, Posner said:
We brought it up early and often. It was mentioned in the first session, and as a troubling trend in our society and an indication that we have to deal with issues of discrimination or potential discrimination, and that these are issues very much being debated in our own society.
“Potential” discrimination. It hasn’t happened yet. It might not. But we’re warning all you yutzes down there in Arizona: you watch yourselves.
Posner isn't alone in the Obama Administration:
Attorney General Eric Holder said Sunday that the Justice Department was considering a federal lawsuit against Arizona's new immigration law.
"We are considering all of our options. One possibility is filing a lawsuit," Holder told NBC's "Meet the Press." Possible grounds for the lawsuit would be whether the Arizona law could lead to civil rights violations, he said.
“Could” lead. Not “has led.” The Arizona law hasn’t produced any “civil rights violations” yet. Not even alleged violations.
We might roll our eyes, and stomp upstairs, and slam the bedroom door and text all our friends about how totally lame our parents are. But we haven’t done anything wrong.
But, tough. We’re children, and Uncle Sam is our father. It’s his job to keep us from making bad decisions.
That’s the relationship between a child and a parent. The child knows less; the parent knows more; the parent has the authority to force their greater knowledge on the child.
For our own good.
Lance Burri blogs regularly via his site, The TrogloPundit
COMMENTS
So, can I get $20 for a movie and will you please just co-sign on all these loans for me?
Andrew Ellis (Tue May 18 08:46:16 2010)
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