Re: I HATE hearing news like this....

I know that the state currently places the responsibility of controlling kids' aberrant behavior squarely on the parents. So parents have no choice, currently, to set limits. But this is very different than declaring that kids are the actual property of the parents and that the parents have the right to mold them in any way they please. As I noted with my example of the Greens' political platform, ownership of the kids is even frowned upon by some of the more enlightened alternative political parties of America. I do not agree that the mere fact that your kids share your DNA, that they were a creation of your sexual activity, and that they are currently forced to live with you by the state means that you actually own these children. It is that point of Goethe's that I was responding to. I didn't suggest that parents have no responsibility to set limits, such as preventing kids from hitting each other, abusing the family pet, etc. But on the other hand, I still frown on parents imposing their religious beliefs on their kids, disapproving of friends who may belong to a race or ethnic background that the parent doesn't like, or even forcing them to attend a certain school that the child may hate or clearly realize is not right for them. There is a big difference between setting limits on behavior that is actually harmful to others and simply trying to control every aspect of your kids' lives. Goethe says he is very liberal-minded in raising his kids, which is a good thing, but how many parents are NOT so liberal-minded and do take a controlling hand in every aspect of the kids' existence? In short, we are talking about apples and oranges here.