“Well Wreck, you’re right about that. I’m going to have to watch my inductive and deductive reasoning and not let them get in the way of my passion. So what if a person didn’t pass the licensing test?”
“I would assume that in most cases any deficiencies could be made up. If it were that they were too young, they would grow up. If it were financial they could earn more money. If it were a lack of knowledge, they could take courses to make it up. If it were demonstrated abusive behavior, there might be anger management therapy. If it were drug abuse, they could get treatment. I would think that most deficiencies could be made up by people honestly desiring to be parents.
“In democratic countries we would assume that an enlightened approach to parenting would be possible. Certainly there would be appeals to higher levels of the licensing departments and eventually to the courts.”
“How would you enforce such procedures? What if a couple had an unlicensed child?”
“We’re going to look at how others have handled the problem in our travels. Maybe we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Or maybe we’ll get our own ideas on how to handle it. I’m sure glad you’re going Ray. You’ll certainly keep me on my toes.
“Guys, let’s try to keep our eyes on the big picture. Whose rights are to be protected? The rights of parents, whether competent or incompetent? The rights of a child—the certainty of love, of feeling safe and of belonging. The needs of a society? The needs of the human race? The desires of a religion to have more members? Remember that studies show that in our country half of all children born are unwanted. (16a) What are the chances that an unwanted child will be treated as well as a child who was desired? It seems that social and legal thinking is moving more toward the rights of the child and the rights of the state and away from what many adults think are their parental ‘rights.’ In fact parental duties to the child, for the sake of the child and that of the state, is becoming more important.”
“As a priest I still think that it is a totalitarian idea and it seems to smack of a eugenics approach to having children. You may not like it when I bring up Hitler, but those were two major factors in his Nazi philosophy.”
“We’ve already discussed eugenics. Yes it was tried in Nazi Germany but it was also attempted in the United States and in other non-totalitarian states. And it is still allowed in certain cases.
“I don’t know if this is an argument for eugenics, but in Israel there were recently over 600 cases of handicapped children suing parents and doctors for “wrongful birth” because of the unhappy lives they have been forced to live since their birth. At this time there are meetings being held to determine whether such suits are legitimate. (16b) There are numerous questions that must be addressed, such as: how many tests should be given to a pregnant woman to ascertain probabilities of giving birth to a handicapped child and whether or not doctors must prescribe such tests to protect them from malpractice suits. There is also the question of how much additional money that society must spend on handicapped children.
“But let’s look at your concern with totalitarianism. Totalitarianism, as the word suggests, is the full control of the totality, or of the major facets, of the lives of those subject to it. What Lee?”
“‘Totalitarian’ is a negatively charged word. It means that the governing body exerts absolute or nearly absolute control, on the members of the subordinated group. Strong rulers are often either completely or partially totalitarian. Stalin’s USSR was such a government. It was totalitarian in its control of the economy and in its state atheism. But it allowed people to pursue educations, for which they were qualified, and it provided recreational opportunities without much interference. The Catholic Church is totalitarian. Just look at its requirements for only male priests, for an unmarried clergy, for its opposition to mechanical, hormonal and chemical contraception and to abortion. When the Pope speaks ex cathedra he gives his commands to all of his followers. As with the Soviet regime, he allows free education and recreation—as long as that recreation doesn’t include pre-marital sex. Hitler had a totalitarian control. Generals nearly always exert such control—the orders come down from the top and the underlings must execute them or be guilty of insubordination, which might result in imprisonment or execution.
“Certainly a totalitarian regime is more efficient. It just will not be as desirable for many. Of course if the general wins the war we accept his totalitarian leadership. If the Chinese one child policy allows for a more economically satisfying life for the Chinese we may accept it. If the Pope blesses us for following his commands, we are relieved—and joyous.
“As people who believe in the idea of democracy, we don’t like the idea of totalitarian governance. We want to be able to decide on our personal lives.”
“That’s true Lee, but sometimes, especially in emergency situations, we are required to follow such a totalitarian type of regime because it is more efficient. It may or may not be a good idea but it will happen more quickly and completely when totally controlled from the top. When the totalitarian Chinese communists initiated the one child per family policy it generated a great deal of resistance from people who wanted more children, but it certainly is easing population growth in China and therefore in the world. It is probably, at least partially, responsible for the Chinese economic miracle. On the other hand the eventual problems of the increase of older people relative to younger and the increased number of males to females will also cause some social problems.
“But what were the alternatives? More people, more pollution, a lower standard of living, and a benefit to the rest of the human race because of this. It took a totalitarian approach to do this in a less developed country like China. As it becomes more developed and richer, child limitation may become voluntary, as in Europe and Japan. Ray, do you think the Catholic Church would function as well if it were democratically run than it is now with an all-powerful totalitarian leader?”
“I think that we all recognize that strong central leadership is swifter than consensus. Because of its potential speed it is often more effective and efficient than a parliamentary body. And of course we believe that the Pope has a pretty direct line to God, so he is less likely to make a mistake. Lee, one of the people in my parish did some legal research on the rights of parents. I brought some notes on a couple of cases. In Pierce v School Sisters (17) the state of Oregon was not allowed to require that all children be forced to take their first eight years of education in public schools. This seems to give parents some rights. What rights do parents actually have?”
“Ray, that was a 1925 case. It resulted in the rise of private school offerings, both religious schools and non-religious schools. That right certainly is generally accepted now.”
“My parishioner also found the case of Wisconsin v Yoder (18) ruled that parents did not have to have their children in school.”
“Well that’s not exactly the ruling, Ray. It was a case of Amish parents not wanting their children to have to continue in the state’s school system after the eighth grade. The children still went to public school for their first eight years.”