Does it Take a Village?

Parents, it is time to take back your God-given rights and raise your children without government interference.

On the 250^th anniversary of our nation’s founding, the celebration of all things American has been a joy to see. Amongst the many virtues and character of America, the concept of ‘rugged individualism’ is often extolled. There is much truth in the idea that people pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and making it through their own hard work is a unique component of the story that is America. When looking at the great pioneers of our nation who settled our country, both known and unknown, it is easy to applaud the concept of rugged individualism. Particularly in the early days of our founding, it was understood that government was no help, only a hindrance. No self-respecting American would look to the government for anything. Government was for defense, keeping order, and regulating trade and currency. Other than those main items, people preferred to be left to themselves. With rugged individualism as a guiding precept, people were expected to rely on themselves.

What made rugged individualism so successful was that the early settlers knew they could rely on themselves because they had a deep and abiding Christian faith. Although they may have been alone…on the plains, in a log cabin, trapping in the forest, carrying mail by Pony Express, herding cattle…they knew there was a higher power, a Divine Providence, watching over them. Rugged individualism became possible because the early settlers and pioneers believed with all their might that they were never alone, even when they were by themselves. Through their faith in God, they had reserves they were able to call upon when things became unbearably difficult. It allowed them to persevere and carry on.

Fast forward a hundred years or so, and Americans began to enter a new era. An era where their unquestionable success fed their pride, tricking them into believing that God was no longer needed. They had conquered where it mattered, and their hubris allowed them to attribute that success to themselves alone. Early pioneers never made that mistake; they knew any success they had was a gift from God, and they gave thanks for His loving care. The same was true even amidst disasters and failures; their hope in God allowed them to continue in the face of insurmountable odds. Modern Americans rejected the freeing faith of their forefathers. Their repudiation of God was a long process, a slow drip of daily decisions devoid of connection to Him. Playing out over decades, fewer people were willing to recognize the presence of God acting in their lives. Even worse, more people began to disbelieve in God than believed.

In this atmosphere, a new concept emerged in 1996. It was Hillary Clinton, First Lady of the United States at the time, who wrote a book entitled, It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us. Here, she embraced the idea of collectivism in parenting children. Rugged individualism was discarded as being old-fashioned, and the non-Western communal idea of having children raised by many people rather than their parents was put forth as the new, better way to raise children. Parents were told they were not enough. They needed other people to help. They were told it was too hard. They were told they were insufficiently trained. They were belittled.

Instead of dismissing such notions as nonsense, parents bought into the lie. More than that, they embraced it wholeheartedly. Perhaps if they could share the burden of child rearing with everyone, life would become easier…for them. No one ever asked if such a plan was better for the children. And so, like many insidious but outwardly benevolent ideas, the idea of surrendering one’s children to society at large became the fashionable option. The great socialist experiment of coaxing children from the arms of their parents and into the grasping claws of the government had taken a giant leap forward. It was all wrapped up in the supposedly ‘new’ idea of letting the Village raise your child; most did not understand that a Village did not mean one’s neighbors; it meant the government.

Governmental social services providing ‘care’ for children took a giant leap forward, as funding from leftist groups, legislators, and corporations all jumped on the ‘it takes a village’ bandwagon. Teachers and medical staff were given greater power over children in their care. The embracing of the Village over the parent led to the whittling away of parental rights, until decades later, the Village of the educational system has now had the power to medically transition a child’s sex without parental permission or even parental knowledge.

How did we get to this place? The rejection of God by Americans, the culture, and every social structure in the nation left a gaping void…one that needed to be filled. Instead of God-centered families, neighbors, and church communities helping where needed, the government became the god. Parents were taught to think, “Surely this person…fill in the blank with teacher, doctor, social worker…can do a better job with my child than I can.” Without their faith and reliance on God, they lost the sense of rugged individualism their ancestors had always embraced. Without God as their anchor, they became ‘not enough’. Without a reference to a biblical God, their will and intellect became dimmed, and they were easily persuaded that no God would be needed, for the Village would be there. The Village indeed came for the children, and many have been lost, wounded, or destroyed as a result.

On the 250^th birthday of our nation, a nation founded by God and with all deference to Him, it is time for parents to reject the Village. It is time to rescue one’s children from the Village and bring them back to a God-centered home with the nuclear family of father, mother, and child. It is time to rediscover the rugged individualism that made our nation, and that is only possible when a people puts God at the forefront of their lives. Our founding fathers were brave and put everything on the line to make a country where men could live freely. On this anniversary, are we called to do less? It is time to burn the Village concept down. Let us pray for a return to God, and a return to the ideals that made the United States of America the greatest nation on earth. Long may it stand.

Betsy DeBry, Truth In Education, is a homeschool educator and community advocate. Holding a master's degree in chemistry from Georgia Tech, she has spent years teaching science to homeschool students and advocating for parental rights, transparency, and accountability in K-12 education.