When talking about the unalienable Rights of Parents, the use of the word “privilege” suggests in this context that “the Government will allow you to <insert action here>.”
It means that Government can both grant and revoke the ability to do something. And being a Government worker (though not for very much longer, thankfully), we see the divide again of those that believe that Government should be in control of EVERYTHING (a Hobbesian oriented environment) and your rights (note the use of the lowercase “r”) are totally dependent on Government.
- The state’s outgoing director of the Office of the Child Advocate, Moira O’Neill, also spoke against the bill (HB1431), which she said would promote the rights of parents at the expense of children. “Parents already have strongly established rights in New Hampshire,” O’Neill said. “Being a parent, however, is a privilege. It’s a gift, and it’s a great responsibility. This chapter would pit the rights of parents against that of children.”
Sure, it is a gift – a gift from God. And yes, it IS a great responsibility – I’ll give her that. The question, because of that sentence framing of hers, begs the question:
Who is in charge of whom?
With the construction of the rights of parents against that of children, what is actually being communicated is that Government is, and should, be standing between parents and their children. Is that REALLY how it is supposed to work?
Sorry – NH State Rep Paul Terry has it correctly – there should not be a Government “intermediary” between a child and their Parents:
- “We need a parents’ bill of rights to make clear the will of the people of this state: that parents have certain unalienable rights with respect to the care and upbringing of their minor children,” said Rep. Paul Terry, an Alton Republican.
We are supposed to be an inalienable rights-based Society – while some Rights are enumerated in our Constitution, ALL Rights are a gift from God and are not to be tampered with willy-nilly. However, with the rise of Socialist Progressivism, the pendulum has swung from our Founding Fathers who recognized that Government’s main job is to be protecting those God-given Rights to where Government gets to dole them out and revoke them at its pleasure and whim. With her “privilege,” O’Neill makes it clear where she stands on that spectrum.
Rights of the Child? I’m sorry, those are far and few between. A Child, by definition, has not reached the age of majority and has been deemed by Society as not having the same Rights as Adults. What O’Neill is trying to set up is that strawman that a child and their adult parent(s) have the same Rights – not true. Parents have the lead in the raising of that child and the Government, except in the most egregious conditions, ought to butt out. Instead, these people whose paychecks are government-signed ones believe that sole fact gives them the right to interfere with that family bond.
And the NH Bulletin advances that “Government First” attitude by putting scare quotes around “a parental bill of rights” and carrying water for government workers’ exclamations that childrens’ rights would get short shrift.
IMHO, it is actually THEIR baseless sense of the “right” to guide and raise children up, over that of Parents, that they are upset about that this bill, HB 1431, they’re peeved over. Just like the issue that school districts have the power to lie to parents about their children.
This is ALL about not only whose kids are they but also the authority and overall control of those children.
And Moira, Don’t Let That Proverbial Door…
(H/T: NH Bulletin (a wholly-owned subsidiary, so it seems, of Granite State Progress))
NOTE: While trying to find an image to use, I came across this story in which O’Neill had given her pick to the Penobscot Bay Press in an article about running for Senate District 7 – in Maine. She’s a Democrat! And the answers she gave to some political questions are illustrative (you’ll have to go to the link to see the Republican’s answers). At every decision point, she leans to the side of the Government being the provider of solutions for anything that “ails” a citizen. So why WOULDN’T she lean Hobbesian? Emphasis mine:
Moira O’Neill
A first-time candidate who won the Democratic nomination in a contested primary race, Moira O’Neill said her desire to serve in the state Senate comes from both her work in the public health field and John F. Kennedy’s decades-old call for citizens to “ask what you can do for your country.”
“I think I have a very unique skill set that would be useful in the legislature,” she said, that comes from problem-solving as a public health official and “having a ready, evaluative eye for state programs” from her work as ombudsman for an agency that oversaw all state services for children.
Specifically, she said she was prompted to enter the race after nursing students told her that hospitals were discharging patients without oxygen or medicine. The 75,000 Maine residents lacking health insurance under the Affordable Care Act creates problems for people, hospitals and caregivers, she said.
“People have said I’m a single-issue candidate and I’m not, but it all comes back to the cost of health care. People are drowning in deductible costs. Three hospitals in this area are accruing uncompensated care, mostly from the insured with high deductibles.”
At the same time, senior citizens on fixed incomes are paying high drug costs, fishermen’s families are paying $30,000 a year in health insurance premiums with a $10,000 deductible, and the opiate addiction problem needs more than the newly initiated Hope Program in Ellsworth and Scarborough, she said.
“Someone sits at the phone and calls all over the country for places who will take uninsured Mainers” to treat for opiate addiction and recovery, she said. “It’s phenomenally, fiscally foolish not to cover these people.”
O’Neill said high health premiums and medical costs also affect the overall economy of Maine. Small businesses are “the backbone of our economy” but can’t afford to cover employee health insurance so find it hard to recruit employees. “If you took health insurance out of the equation, small businesses could pay more wages. It would free up more money for the economy.”
The first step is expanding MaineCare, O’Neill said, legislation that passed the House and Senate vote in the last legislative session but was successfully vetoed by Gov. Paul LePage. “I feel optimistic we can do that. The failure of overriding the governor’s veto was one vote.” She noted that her opponent voted against the veto override.
Next, Maine should look at a different option for health care, keeping an eye on ballot questions in other states for state-based universal health care.
“The failure of the ACA has prompted people you’d never think of to talk about it,” she said.
On Maine’s reputation as business-unfriendly, O’Neill replied, “It depends on who’s calling it [that]. I think a lot of people think it’s an unfriendly state because of the tone of the governor. It’s friendly. We have a really strong work-ethic in this state, and a lot of creativity at the local level in entrepreneurship.”
Maine’s weaknesses lies in the absence of high-speed Internet, zero population growth, an aging population, a lack of a highly skilled workforce, and wages that don’t “keep young college graduates here,” she said.
On the five citizen-initiated ballot questions, O’Neill said, “How people vote, including me, is very personal—why we have a secret ballot. When I speak with voters around the district, they tell me, above all else, they want honesty from leaders…. I believe honesty is more valued than any one position. I hope people will trust that my personal vote will not influence my obligation to honor the final vote count on any issue. And there is nothing wrong with any of us changing our positions as we learn more each day.”
Question 1, Marijuana Legalization Act: “Yes. As a nurse and public health official, I really worry about making any drug accessible…. Despite public health concerns, it’s more important to regulate it.”
Question 2, Maine Tax on Incomes Exceeding $200,000 for Public Education Measure: “Yes, because although it’s not a reliable resource for education expenditures, it does bring back some equity in terms of our progressive tax. This was a tax bracket that recently was given tax breaks.”
Question 3, Maine Background Checks for Gun Sales Measure: “Yes. In my mind, it’s not an anti-crime bill but a public health bill [that] will decrease suicide and domestic violence deaths by firearms. I encourage people to read the bill. There’s no Second Amendment challenge. It’s just a measure to save lives.”
Question 4, Maine Minimum Wage Increase: “Yes. Working Mainers need to be paid a livable wage. I do acknowledge concerns in our county, especially along the coast, where employers are already paying above minimum wage.”
Question 5, Maine Ranked Choice Voting Initiative: “Yes. I believe there are going to be questions about its constitutionality. But you have to respect people who bring a referendum. Clearly Mainers want a change.”
Legislatively proposed Question 6, a proposed $100 million transportation bond: “Yes. The roads are in really bad shape here. It’s critical we look at public transportation in this area.”
At a glance
Political: Member, Surry Finance Committee; former assistant child advocate for the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate.
Professional: Nurse; former full-time professor of nursing, current adjunct, Husson University School of Nursing.
Education: PhD in nursing, Yale University, MS in nursing and public health, Yale University.
Personal: Board member, Surry Community Improvement Association; National Park Service volunteer; family caregiver.
