Letter to the Editor: Parker Jenson debate continues with question of who should raise our children: the state or parents

After hearing all the debate on Parker Jenson[sic] and then reading Mr. Spears article I realize why this nation is in trouble. What are we going to do Mr. Spears, have the state raise our children for us?
If we continue allowing the state to intervene in these matters, it will only get worse. Imagine telling your kid that she cannot have a second bag of popcorn at the movie but the state chaperone who is attending countermands your wishes because your child has two popcorn vouchers remaining and forces you to give it to them, because the omnipotent state knows what is best?.[sic]
I am not religious, but some people do not believe in medical treatment at all, do you advocate they be forced to accept medical treatment even though they believe it may lead to damnation? Regardless of the personal beliefs you and I hold we must respect the belief of others.
A parent must have sovereign right to raise their children unless ruled unfit. Parker’s parents are not unfit, they are simply proceeding with caution, and the fact that the state is suing them should scare the hell out of us all. Obviously Mr. Spears has no children, and it is easy for him to pass value judgments when he has no personal investment.
Mr. Spears, may I ask you, how do you know chemotherapy is the best course, are you a doctor qualified to make this judgment or do you believe that because someone is a doctor they are automatically right? Are you trying to insinuate that the Parkers do not love their child.[sic] Do you think the father would willingly go to jail if he did not believe he was doing the right thing?
Tell me Mr. Spears, is giving your kids soda pop child neglect? It rots their teeth, contributes to obesity and imbalances the natural sugars in the body. Did your parents ever give you soda pop.[sic] If they had, would you have felt good about becoming a ward of the state because someone had a different opinion then you.
Who gives you or anyone else the right to judge what is right.[sic] Remember Nazi Germany decreed that it was right that Jews not hold property, and our nation thought it was right for the Blacks to sit at the back of the bus and not attend white schools.
Let us talk for a minute about the constitution. At what age does a human being have the right to choose the course of their own life?
A day before your eighteenth birthday you are not capable but the day after you are magically endowed with wisdom? Some folks in their middle ages still cannot make good decisions regarding their lives, but they still have freedom.
What worries me most is this social contract you talk about. I do not remember agreeing to any social contract. I grew up in racially integrated Los Angeles, during forced bussing and saw what your contract with society did to people. I think your intentions are good but you have not seen the real world, have not seen people suffer.
Parker told the State of Utah to leave them alone. Oh, let me guess, he was brainwashed, right? Every human being has the fundamental right to get a second opinion, but yet you, who speaks often about freedom, wants to take their constitutional right to make decisions for their child.
You may think these examples are ridiculous and maybe they are, but nobody thought Hitler would gas the Jews in the beginning either. It is our duty to be vigilant, to protect our freedoms from intrusions by the “state”. I would hope that Mr. Spears would study history, talk to people with children, especially those who have been victimized by the state before he draws conclusions about what he thinks is best for us all.
This is a prevalent problem in our society. Legislators are making laws that affect the poor when they have never been poor, and elderly white males deciding what is best for black women. Mr. Spears, I beg of you, be a part of the solution, not the problem and think before you speak. I implore you to take off your rose- colored glasses, and quit listening to Rush Limbaugh.
–Samuel Pittman