That escalated quickly

My blog has gone nuts this week. Both posts about parental rights have gone viral. The posts have been shared over 700 times and there are so many comments I can’t keep up. This has never happened in my little corner of the internet before.

Lots of people agree with my premise, that parents should have the right to determine who talks to their kids and about the content of that conversation. The comments from those folks have been encouraging and supportive.

There are others who think I’m some crazy, religious nut job. Their comments aren’t so nice. I could laugh off some of them, like the ones that said Amy must be a sheltered child who will never make it on her own. Oh, if only they knew her! Some called me a micromanager and control freak. Pretty sure my husband wishes I were a bit more of a control freak, at least about the clutter in our kitchen…

There’s just one problem with those who disagree - they aren’t focusing on the issue of parental rights. They are focusing on the peripheral issues. These are some of the comments I read:

·         You’re paranoid

·         If you won’t give your child STD information you’re all but dooming her to have one

·         You are teaching your kids to distrust doctors

·         You’re denying your children adequate sex ed information

·         You’re against protecting kids

·         You must be hiding something

And this is why having rational discussions about hot-button topics is so difficult. Name-calling and mud-slinging is easy. Thoughtful, deliberate conversation takes self-control and hard work.

As we wrestle with this issue, remember that we must go forward with grace and truth. We need to be gracious in how we speak to each other and about each other. But we must also speak the truth. And the truth is that God gave us these children to nurture and raise for a short while. We would be shirking our God-given responsibility to give up our parental rights, even if that path seems easier or paved with less confrontation.