Re: Principles of: a)the Law ; b)Autonomy

Isn't this is a pretty self-righteous and pontificating statement? Well as I keep saying "To each their own". You raise your family your way and I'll raise mine my way, how does that compromise sound? I have created my progeny, I have fed and clothed and cared for them. I am their protector, caretaker AND master until they leave my roof.

Clearly, you're not a youth liberationist, Goethe. I don't agree that parents are the "masters" of their children. I believe, as a youth liberationist, that once a child has their own identity they deserve a degree of autonomy. For instance, I believe that a parent has no right to force a child to practice a certain religion, to undertake a certain form of education if the child believes it's not right for them as an individual, to be forced not to work if the child chooses to get a job, or for the parent to have control over the child's money if they are earning their own. When you say, "You raise your kids your way and I will raise my kids my way," to me that sounds like you are saying that you will do anything you want with your kids regardless of their own wishes. I fully understand that sometimes you HAVE to say "no" to kids (especially younger kids), I do believe that NO ONE has a right to control the personal aspects of a child's life. As a youth liberationist, I fight AGAINST parental control over kids, and I agree with Henny that you are the caretaker of your children but NOT their master. Currently, you have the power to be that master according to the law, which sees children as little more than the property of their parents, and I can only hope that you choose not to abuse that power until such time that things change and children and teens acquire the ability to emancipate themselves from their parents if they so choose.