“Attorney General Merrick Garland signaled he has no plans to withdraw a memo ordering the FBI to help local leaders address threats against educators.”
This was the opening line of an online article from The Wall Street Journal dated Oct. 27, 2021.
Those who have been following the news know that after a letter from the National School Board Association portrayed school boards as being under threat, the White House and Garland went into action to characterize parents defending their children at school board meetings as a source of “terroristic threat.” These parents could potentially be investigated by the FBI. It is a chilling threat toward them, and a move to silence their speech and stop their efforts to protect their children.
The NSBA later apologized for its characterization of parents, but many suspect this was more of a political move than a sincere apology.
In the race for governor of Virginia, candidate Terry McAuliffe was quoted as saying, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” It is a remark that, again, is another stunning rejection of the right of parents to speak up and be advocates for their children. It is an arrogant dismissal of the right of parents to raise their children according to their standards and beliefs.
Wherever one turns in this hour, we see harm being done to families and an effort being made to damage or remove parental control over one’s own children. Whether critical race theory and Marxist ideas, inappropriate sex education, pornographic books in student libraries, the “arrows” coming at families are coming fast and furiously, and many parents and grandparents are alarmed—and angry.
The notion that “the state knows best” and will “go around” parents to shape their children or to entice their children to do things without their parents’ knowledge or permission is a notion feared by many. The state has no right to interfere to this degree. Parents have constitutional rights.
And it is not just in the schools that the attacks on family occur.
My recent podcast guest, Rachel Bruno (rachelbruno.com), went through a tremendous nightmare dealing with family court and the removal of her children by Child Protective Services. Her 7-week-old baby was injured while being cared for by an employee of the family. Yet the assumption was immediately made that “the mother is responsible.” Without due process or thorough investigation, the children were taken from the family.
You can hear Bruno’s story on Rooted by the Stream. She describes encountering many people in her court-ordered classes whose children were also placed under the control of the court on very flimsy grounds. She says there is much financial incentive to push children into foster situations and then adoption.
We know there are children who do need to be protected and removed from dangerous home situations. But too many others are also being caught up in a dragnet of governmental overreach.
Bruno offers tips for dealing with family court. She has a book coming out in 2022 called Fractured Hope: A Mother’s Fight for Justice. The good news is that she ultimately was vindicated and won a civil suit against those who had come against her. But this is an hour for families to be vigilant against Satan’s attack on the family. Being vigilant about our children’s curriculum, running for local office, perhaps doing homeschooling and more are ways of mounting a defense. And certainly, above all else, powerful interceding prayer is needed.
For more of Rachel Bruno’s story on how God helped her endure and be victorious over tremendous heartache and struggle, listen here. {eoa}
Dr. Pam Morrison is a pastor who has both led churches and also ministered in the inner city and elsewhere with recovering addicts as a pastoral counselor and as part of a healing rooms ministry. She has seen much physical and inner healing. Pam loves ministering overseas and has had a special relationship with people in Cuba for many years. She is the author of Jesus and the Addict: Twelve Bible Studies for People Getting Free from Drugs, available in English and Spanish. Her website is pammorrisonministries.com. Her podcast with Charisma Podcast Network is called Rooted by the Stream. You can email her at [email protected].
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