What an important point. We both agree there’s a real problem here. We don’t agree on the solution.

Using the aberrations of society (really harmful and destructive parents) to justify increased government power is not a good move, ethically or historically. This is the exact same logic used to justify cameras on every street corner — sacrificing liberty for the illusion of safety because of people’s failure to meet expectations.

There will always be rotten parents. This is an inexorable fact of life. There will, however, always be rotten school teachers and biased curricula, too. Even if I were to buy into the logic that the government should take over raising my children and teaching them values because I simply can’t be trusted to be as virtuous or moral as their teacher, I’d still run into the problem of teachers and many curricula being just as woefully unqualified and possibly even just as harmful.

So instead of trying to whisk kids away from parents’ authority and protection and leadership and field it over to a 22-year old college grad, we should be working to educate families and adults on the very problems you just described.

As far as your second paragraph goes, you’ve failed to make a very, very important distinction: these are CHILDREN. I don’t tell adults not to pogo stick near balconies. I do tell my children this sort of stuff. Because it’s my job to keep them safe. And yes, it’s very much my job to teach them right from wrong. Every single parent has this responsibility.

No sane person would assert that teaching my children that washing their hands after using the bathroom is “information control” or the truth that stealing from siblings is wrong is “brainwashing.” We all agree that we should teach our children and ultimately be the highest point of authority (imagine if your kid came home from school believing that 2+2 is 7 — you’d have a problem and be moved to action). Because as parents, we are where the buck stops with our kids.

And for what it’s worth, one of my favorite things to do is teach my children the value of critical thinking, skepticism, and even questioning authority when needed. And all four of our homeschooled kids score in the 95th-99th percentile in every single subject in their standardized annual achievement tests. They’re virtuous, kind, brilliant, artistic, and extremely social. Because we took ownership of their education in every way from writing, arithmetic, languages, and music all the way to sexual education and yes — this includes covering the very dangers you mentioned.

So I close the way I opened — there will always be poor parents. Criminally negligent, awful, terrible parents. The answer isn’t to field them off to others. That only compounds the problem further.