Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Michael Farris:
As I have worked to secure solid protection for parental rights, I have often been told that my efforts are premature—I should wait until there is an “acute” failing in America’s legal protection for parental rights.

James Madison faced similar arguments. Madison was determined to secure a Bill of Rights in the text of the Constitution, but other leaders told him that there were too many acute problems facing them to waste time on a Bill of Rights—after all, they couldn’t see any widespread challenges to individual rights. Madison knew that if he didn’t secure a bill of rights at the first available moment, the mood of society might change and the opportunity would be lost forever. As homeschoolers, we must have the practical political instincts of James Madison.

Consider what an acute failure in the protection of parental rights would look like. The government could enact an outrageous program invading the sphere of the family. The Supreme Court could change its views on the rights of the family. If either were to happen, it would mean that a significant portion of society had shifted in the wrong direction, and we would no longer have sufficient public support to accomplish our mission. Constitutional amendments are successful only if the American public supports them by an overwhelming majority. If we wait until the problems are acute, we will have waited until we no longer have the public support necessary for victory.

Waiting ensures defeat. We must secure parental rights as a protected right in the actual text of the U.S. Constitution. I’m Mike Farris.