Angry in the Great White North

A tough story:

A 14-year-old cancer patient broke down in tears after she was ordered to return to British Columbia for lifesaving treatment that may require blood transfusions she has refused on religious grounds.

Yesterday's ruling upheld the latest decision in the controversial case, made April 27 by a B.C. court. That placed the girl, who cannot be identified under a publication ban, in the custody of the province's director of child and family services. It also stipulated she be "apprehended" by authorities and returned home for treatment.

On the one hand, cancer is a terrible disease, and it is difficult to imagine anyone avoiding treatment that seems innocuous enough (no fetal stem cells, no genetically modified retro-viruses). On the other hand, to what point can the state circumscribe the right of parents in managing the lives of their children until they reach the age of majority?

Though it might be hard for those of us who are not Jehovah's Witnesses (I am not) to completely sympathize with the family in this situation, here is another example (hat tip to Wizbang) of the state attempting to usurp the role of parents in making judgments about the well-being of their children:

For David Parker, the first alarm went off in January, when his 5-year-old son came home from his kindergarten class at Lexington's Joseph Estabrook School with a bag of books promoting diversity.

Inside were books about foreign cultures and traditions, along with food recipes. There was also a copy of ''Who's In a Family?" by Robert Skutch, which depicts different kinds of families, including same-sex couples raising children.

Parker and his wife, Tonia, 34, who was also in court yesterday, said the dispute arose because they asked school officials to notify them about classroom discussions about same-sex marriage and what they called other adult themes. They also wanted the option to exclude their boy, now 6, from those talks.

Parker said he met with school officials to gain those assurances and then refused to leave until he got them.

Apparently the state was unwilling to relinquish their control over this element of this 5-year-old boy's education, and his father spent a night in jail as a result.

The problem is that without truly engaging the us, the parents, in the decision making and in being arrogant about knowing what is right and what is wrong, the state is demanding utter compliance from us. They demand complete faith about what it is they are doing.

That is ironic given what I know about Robert Skutch.

You see, I don't trust the state. Fact is, I don't trust anyone. For example, on behalf of Mr. Parker, I looked up Robert Skutch, author of "Who's in a Family?". Turns out he is the co-founder
of the Foundation of Inner Peace. Along with his wife Judith Skutch (aka Judith Skutch Witson aka Judith Skutch-Witson), they transformed their institute in parapsychological research into a publishing house to print and promote A Course in Miracles, written by William Thetford and Helen Suchman. Actually, not exactly written by them.

They were channeling Jesus Christ.

Do you want these people writing textbooks for your children to read, especially 5-year-old children, especially on touchy subjects like homosexuality, without knowing a lot more about what they are peddling? Fair questions, I think, but as with the issue of blood transfusions, the state has already answered those questions on your behalf, and you had better just shut up and do as you're told.