From the Archive. There was a proposal a few years back by a nearby school district to require drug testing for all children engaged in extracurricular activities. As a free thinker and a libertarian I had a problem with this. I don’t know if the proposal was ever adopted. I do know that my mind remains unchanged on the subject.
I am the guardian of my children’s rights. To submit children to drug testing without probable cause violates the 1st, 4th and 5th amendments to the constitution, just on the face of it, no matter what the SCOTUS ultimately says.
I find it offensive that the school has decided to exclude my children from extracurricular activity over this issue. I say this because I will not allow my child’s rights to be violated, and they will not be allowed to participate without testing.
If I feel that the evidence warrants testing, rest assured I will see that they are tested. But the state has no business getting involved in this issue. My children will not be involved in extracurricular activities if testing is required. My children will not be in school if testing is required of the entire student body.
Further, anyone who submits to a drug test for ANY REASON when not under arrest is abdicating their rights under the constitution. They are admitting guilt until proven innocent.
There comes a point where you can yield no further ground on an issue. That point has been reached. If you want to end the threat of drugs in the school REMOVE THE PROFIT, LEGALIZE THEM.
It really is that simple. Prohibition does not work, we proved that nearly a century ago.
are you willing to open that can of worms [children’s rights] for the liberals?
It’s not a can of worms, because you are misconstruing my post. The child has no rights directly (again, in spite of what the SCOTUS says) They are not adults, they do not comprehend actions and consequences as a general rule, and they do not think at an adult level. However, as the parent, I am charged with guarding the rights of my children. It falls to me, and to no one else, to do this.
If someone fails in their duty as parent, the child should be free to seek whatever shelter can be found; be it private charity or government action. If the child can prove that he/she is able to function as an adult, then he/she is no longer a child and should have the ability to seek redress for harm done like any adult.
Children do not stay children, they become adults. Parents who fail to realize this natural order of things (and I know a few who fall in this category) deserve whatever comes to them when the adult who was their child takes offense at the liberties taken by negligent, or even over-protective, parents. Religion is no excuse for mistreatment of a child; there is, in fact, no excuse for mistreatment. None.
…as far as I read it you were stating it’s a violation of the children’s rights to be drug tested. But as you just stated the children do not have many rights by law. So you’re saying its ok for a parent to violate a child’s rights but not the government’s right [to do so]?
The government has no rights, only individuals have rights. Some will tell you that the government is an illusion, like the spoon in the Matrix. But I digress.
I’m always amazed at the confusion most people exhibit when the subject of rights comes up. I’m amazed because the first document of a free America proclaims the existence of inalienable rights, and amazed because the concept is so clear to me.
To put it simply: Children are potential adults. If they succeed in reaching maturity then they are adults. All adults have rights, they are the same rights no matter where you live (despite what the Chinese premier thinks) because they come from what makes us living, thinking individuals. Children have potential rights, and these are vested in the guardian or parent whose job it is to ensure that the child matures into a responsible adult.
A parent can violate a child’s rights. Negligence, abuse, or some other failure of guidance should be seen as a breaking of the trust that is parenthood.
In demanding drug testing, the gov’t and the school have determined that all the children are guilty until proven innocent. Any parent who yields to the pressure and allows their child to be tested in this fashion allows their children’s rights to be violated, and in so doing, abdicates their right to be called parent.
Postscript
The practice, once established, spreads.
Several districts in Texas have drug testing in place. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2002 broadened the authority of public schools to test children for illegal drugs by allowing for the inclusion of middle and high school students participating in extracurricular programs, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Testing had previously been allowed only for student athletes.
usatoday.com
