Family

The post-modern world has determined that the classical definition of what constitutes a "family" (comprising a father, mother and one or more offspring - with an "extended family" covering more than two generations) is hopelessly out of date and utterly unworkable.

It isn't simply that, in an age of a declining institution of marriage, less than half of "families" satisfy that definition, the whole idea that a father and mother have any kind of special relationship with their children is increasingly questioned. The very terms father and mother no longer mean what they used to, and (along with terms like husband and wife) are increasingly being removed from government forms and replaced with gender-neutral terms. Furthermore, the new family traditions spawned by relationships like surrogacy and gamete donor are increasingly common. And, it's no longer uncommon for a child to have two fathers or two mothers.

Indeed, with government subsidized nutrition programs (e.g., WIC), federally subsidized child care, new federal healthcare mandates, etc., one wonders what relevance so-called traditional parents will have in the lives of their supposed children in the future.

Meanwhile, serious people are asking questions about the need to regulate parenthood, some have suggested that parenthood should be licensed. With mandated sex education, HPV and other vaccination programs, growing restrictions on home schooling, a diminishing role for parents in defining school curricula and teenage daughters having abortions under the guidance of school counselors without involving the parents, the competence of parents to govern the development of their children is increasingly coming into question.

It used to be that parents were presumed competent, and school and other government officials were required to consult them before applying an intervention. Today, schools routinely fail to notify parents of their right to "opt out" of such interventions or even notify them ahead of time that such interventions are planned.

Welcome to the Brave New World.