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USA Today Op-Ed: California should abolish parenthood, in the name of equity

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  • USA Today Op-Ed: California should abolish parenthood, in the name of equity

    At least these whackjob leftists aren't even trying to hide it anymore.


    If California is ever going to achieve true equity, the state must require parents to give away their children.

    Today’s Californians often hold up equity — the goal of a just society completely free from bias — as our greatest value. Gov. Gavin Newsom makes decisions through “an equity lens.” Institutions from dance ensembles to tech companies have publicly pledged themselves to equity.

    But their promises are no match for the power of parents.

    Fathers and mothers with greater wealth and education are more likely to transfer these advantages to their children, compounding privilege over generations. As a result, children of less advantaged parents face an uphill struggle, social mobility has stalled, and democracy has been corrupted. More Californians are abandoning the dream; a recent Public Policy Institute of California poll found declining belief in the notion that you can get ahead through hard work.

    My solution — making raising your own children illegal — is simple, and while we wait for the legislation to pass, we can act now: the rich and poor should trade kids, and homeowners might swap children with their homeless neighbors.

    Now, I recognize that some naysayers will dismiss such a policy as ghastly, even totalitarian. But my proposal is quite modest, a fusion of traditional philosophy and today’s most common political obsessions.

    In his “Republic,” Plato adopted Socrates’ sage advice — that children “be possessed in common, so that no parent will know his own offspring or any child his parents” — in order to defeat nepotism, and create citizens loyal not to their sons but to society.

    Today, a policy of universal orphanhood aligns with powerful social trends that point to less interest in family. Californians are slower to marry, and are having fewer children — our birth rate is at an all-time low.

    My proposal also should be politically unifying, fitting hand-in-glove with the most cherished policies of progressives and Trumpians alike.

    The left’s introduction of anti-racism and gender identity in schools faces a bitter backlash from parents. Ending parenthood would end the backlash, helping dismantle white supremacy and outdated gender norms. Democrats also would have the opportunity to build a new pillar of the safety net — a child-raising system called “Foster Care for All.”

    Over on the right, Republicans are happy to jettison parents’ rights in pursuit of their greatest passions, like violating migrant rights. Once you’ve gone so far as to take immigrant children from their parents and put them in border concentration camps, it’s a short walk to separating all Americans from their progeny.

    Universal orphanhood also dovetails nicely with the pro-life campaign to end abortion rights. In fact, a suggestion from Justice Amy Coney Barrett, during a recent case that could overturn Roe, inspired this column. She posited that abortion rights are no longer necessary because all 50 states now have “safe haven” laws allowing women to turn their babies over to authorities after birth. My proposal would merely make mandatory such handovers of babies to the state.

    Perhaps such coercion sounds dystopian. But just imagine the solidarity that universal orphanhood would create. Wouldn’t children, raised in one system, find it easier to collaborate on global problems?

    Now, I don’t expect universal support for universal orphanhood. A few contrarians, lost in the empty chasm between American extremes, might object to this rational proposal on emotional grounds. They might argue that pursuing your own conception of family is fundamental to freedom.

    They also may suggest that people don’t really want to start or finish at the same point in life.

    They may even say that what we really desire is what the title orphan of the musical Annie demanded: “I didn’t want to be just another orphan, Mr. Warbucks. I wanted to believe I was special.”

    But don’t pay those critics any mind. Because they just can’t see how our relentless pursuit of equity might birth a brave new world.

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/opini...ty/6513756001/
    Just wow.

  • #2
    It seems to me that this is a Swiftian bit of satire. When he started taking broad shots at both the left and the right here that both sides would object to the phrasing of, it clued me in.
    "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
      It seems to me that this is a Swiftian bit of satire. When he started taking broad shots at both the left and the right here that both sides would object to the phrasing of, it clued me in.
      No way, this clickbait article is an excellent representation of a viewpoint shared by a significant number of leftists and it's definitely worth getting upset over.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
        It seems to me that this is a Swiftian bit of satire. When he started taking broad shots at both the left and the right here that both sides would object to the phrasing of, it clued me in.
        I agree. He even managed to call it a "modest proposal" with a bit of re-wording:

        But my proposal is quite modest, a fusion of traditional philosophy and today’s most common political obsessions.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Gondwanaland View Post
          At least these whackjob leftists aren't even trying to hide it anymore.



          Just wow.
          Looks at calendar. Dang. I was sure it was April 1st.

          I'm always still in trouble again

          "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
          "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
          "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Psychic Missile View Post

            No way, this clickbait article is an excellent representation of a viewpoint shared by a significant number of leftists and it's definitely worth getting upset over.
            Apparently the editor of USA Today thought it was shared by enough to publish it.

            I'm always still in trouble again

            "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
            "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
            "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
              It seems to me that this is a Swiftian bit of satire. When he started taking broad shots at both the left and the right here that both sides would object to the phrasing of, it clued me in.
              Yeah, he even mentions "his proposal" is "modest" as in "a modest proposal" by Swift about eating children. This is satire to point out how the left's pursuit of equity has gone awry by taking it to an extreme.

              The ending sentence cinches it:

              "But don’t pay those critics any mind. Because they just can’t see how our relentless pursuit of equity might birth a brave new world."

              Comment


              • #8
                Soooo.... a weak attempt at onionizing?
                The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by KingsGambit View Post
                  It seems to me that this is a Swiftian bit of satire. When he started taking broad shots at both the left and the right here that both sides would object to the phrasing of, it clued me in.
                  Hm, perhaps it is. But if so it's a case of unlabeled satire that is far too close to reality. I prefer the Babylon Bee.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Gondwanaland View Post

                    Hm, perhaps it is. But if so it's a case of unlabeled satire that is far too close to reality. I prefer the Babylon Bee.
                    Especially in light of this:

                    Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Democratic voters would support temporarily removing parents’ custody of their children if parents refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine. That’s much more than twice the level of support in the rest of the electorate – seven percent (7%) of Republicans and 11% of unaffiliated voters – for such a policy.

                    https://www.rasmussenreports.com/pub...t_unvaccinated

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Gondwanaland View Post
                      At least these whackjob leftists aren't even trying to hide it anymore.



                      Just wow.
                      We agree. That is completely whacked.
                      My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. James 2:1

                      If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not  bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless James 1:26

                      This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; James 1:19

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Gondwanaland View Post

                        Especially in light of this:

                        Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Democratic voters would support temporarily removing parents’ custody of their children if parents refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine. That’s much more than twice the level of support in the rest of the electorate – seven percent (7%) of Republicans and 11% of unaffiliated voters – for such a policy.

                        https://www.rasmussenreports.com/pub...t_unvaccinated
                        That is over the top. Covid is not small pox. And the kids themselves for practical purposes are not in any significant danger simply because the parents are not vaccinated.
                        My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. James 2:1

                        If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not  bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless James 1:26

                        This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; James 1:19

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Psychic Missile View Post

                          No way, this clickbait article is an excellent representation of a viewpoint shared by a significant number of leftists and it's definitely worth getting upset over.
                          Absolutely. I also worry about the child molesting cannibal leftists so bravely exposed by the Qanon folks.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Here's something I found that proves beyond doubt that most horses don't like Biden.

                            https://www.theonion.com/poll-averag...oto-1848363244

                            ASBURY PARK, NJ—In the latest indicator of the commander in chief’s waning popularity, a new Rasmussen poll released Monday showed that the average U.S. horse still overwhelmingly preferred a carrot to a photo of President Joe Biden. “A staggering 98 percent of American horses responded more enthusiastically to the carrot than it did to an 4-by-6 glossy of Biden,” said poll analyst Morgan Fellers, noting that within that group, almost half of the participants went so far as to huff and stomp their feet when the carrot was taken away and replaced with the two-dimensional rendering of the president. “According to these results, one in 25 U.S. horses became spooked by the very mention of Biden and ran stampeding out of their stables—that alone should set off alarm bells throughout the DNC. It’s also important to note that the president will not be able to coast on the popularity of his running mate, either, should he mount a reelection campaign: More than 60 percent of horses completely rebuffed a photo of Kamala Harris when presented with an apple core.” At press time, Biden’s favorability had reportedly skyrocketed after pollsters began burying his photo in a stack of sugar cubes.
                            Last edited by Alien; 01-18-2022, 12:22 PM. Reason: Make life easier for the link-averse,

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Gondwanaland View Post

                              Hm, perhaps it is. But if so it's a case of unlabeled satire that is far too close to reality. I prefer the Babylon Bee.
                              MM says that it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between liberalism and trolling/satire. They have gotten so far out there.

                              Comment

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