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are inherent in our humanity and cannot be transferred to government, nor can
government assume those powers that belong to the individual alone. It is no
wonder that we should find it addressed in Holy Scripture, for before it was a
Biblical precept it is found to be a natural right embedded in our human natures.
A natural right is a moral duty. To breach a natural right against one’s
neighbor is an act of violence and thuggery. For a government to breach that
right in promotion of its own ends is tyranny. It is the duty of every man to
promote the human rights of all men.
Society was more stable and more moral before government intruded into
our common law rights. When I was in school in the fifties violence against
teachers was unheard of. Kids always obeyed the teachers or were
paddled with the oak “board of education.” I cannot
remember a moment when things got out of control in
school. There were no drugs, no alcohol, no cursing, and
no talking back to teachers.
Still legal
Note that 22 states still practice “corporal
punishment” in public schools. The anti-spanking
campaign Center for Effective Discipline,
extrapolating from sample statistics collected by
federal authorities, estimates that the number of
students spanked or paddled in 2006 in U.S. public
schools was about 223,000.
Contrary to the perception
produced by the media, you do have
a right to spank your children in all 50
states. In Tennessee, Child Protection
Services says it is not abuse unless marks
remain on the child 24 hours after the fact.
You can read the laws for your state online.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines
physical child abuse as “any non-accidental physical injury to the child, and can
include striking, kicking, burning, or biting the child, or any action that results
in a physical impairment of the child.” In my opinion, that is an acceptable
legal definition of child abuse that does not infringe upon parental rights, but
my personal definition of abuse would be broader, including mental, verbal, and
physical abuse where the spanking is not severe but is not done in the proper
spirit of love and good will. Yet I recognize that not all abuse rises to the level of
requiring government intervention. When children are in genuine danger, under
proper guidelines the government should step in and remedy the situation.
Mainstream
Opponents like to characterize those of us who advocate corporal
chastisement as a minority, as fringe, less intelligent, behind the times, religious
nuts. The opposite is true. Down through the ages in every culture, wise and
compassionate men have promoted and practiced corporal training of their
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