It seems Iowans are going to have some time on their hands at least for the next month due to the Coronavirus spread in the Hawkeye State. Might I recommend a time for reflection?
I suggest this time of reflection for people who have allowed a little too much government into their personal lives.
And this is what I mean.
Yesterday, before Gov. Kim Reynolds had recommended closing schools for four weeks, I saw many parents clamoring for schools to be shut down because they feared for their children.
And I think this is a good opportunity to remind those parents, THEY are the parents — not the school, not the government. If you truly believe your child is in serious danger by attending school, do not send them.
You are the parent.
You are ultimately the person who is responsible for the health and well-being of your child. Not the school. Not the government.
I cannot imagine there ever being a situation where I thought any of my kids would be in imminent danger and I would be waiting for someone else to tell me it’s OK to keep my kid home.
That is insanity.
And I know, I know. Concern over truancy laws and Child Protective Services and so on, but let me remind you — you are worried about your child catching a serious virus. I am presuming you think it’s a serious virus, anyway, or you wouldn’t be overly concerned about it.
If you are a parent who was waiting or relying on government to recommend or give you permission to keep your child home AND you were downright fearful about sending them to school, then reflect on your role as their parent and what role it is exactly the government and the school is supposed to have in your child’s life.
Because right now you are not striking the right balance.
And for the people who are concerned about children getting the one or two meals a day the school provides, asking who will provide those meals now?
Again, reflect on what the role of school and government is supposed to be. It is NOT the role of the school to feed your kid. Now, I understand there are situations in life where people may have to rely on help from government for some of this stuff, but for it to be a year-round solution from Pre-K to high school graduation isn’t right.
This is my concern — if you’re relying on the government to feed your kids, guess what could also happen one day, the government could choose not to feed your kid.
Then what?
It is all a lesson in limited government and the proper role of education.
If the last 48 hours or so have taught us anything, I think it is that we’ve allowed a little more government into our lives than we should have.
Now is a great time to reflect on the dangers of that and how to escape it.
