Kevin Alan Wells

The Dallas City Council today passed a daytime curfew against American citizens 16 years of age and under. From 9:30 am until 2:30 pm on school days they are banned from city streets, public buildings, and private businesses if not supervised by an authorized adult. Violators will be arrested, processed, and sent to court to receive a fine of up to 500 dollars or community service. Local businesses that allow these individuals on their property unsupervised during the curfew hours will also be fined after two warnings.

The intent of this curfew is to stop truancy and the rising daytime break-ins and thefts happening in certain Dallas grids, the majority of which Dallas Police attribute to minors. Last year they picked off the streets two thousand kids for truancy. “These poor children are throwing their futures away! They need to be in school.” cries a majority of the city council. But those kids roaming streets are the very kids teachers don’t want in school. When they are in attendance, the teachers can’t teach because their classrooms become uncontrollable.

All of this is happening because an unbelievable number of parents have dropped their responsibility of parenting. Keeping track of a child is work they simply don’t want to do. The state isn’t taking the job from parents, it’s picking up the pieces of what so many have already tossed aside. The law enforcement system says they can’t handle the responsibility. So the government puts it in the education system’s lap, which isn’t holding the kids that do show up to class as it is. The result is that America’s future, our children, suffers less liberty and less education—which in turn result in a lesser future.

Consider this: the more control you give to government, the less individual liberty you will have. Making laws and enforcing them is how governments handle problems. The more problems you slide off your plate onto theirs, the more rules and regulations you and your family will be told to obey. If you want to avoid America becoming a police state, you must become a master at practicing common sense responsibility for yourself and your children.

Photo by: bengrey.