There are a lot of ways the government can overreach, but I've always considered its ability to worm its fingers into controlling how parents raise their children to be the most despotic of all, and it's still an issue that's happening today.

I think many people pardon this intrusion because it's based on care for the children, which you'll find this is an excuse used by a lot of authoritarians to pass off their control-focused legislation with.

But the brutal truth is that this kind of "care" isn't care at all. It rips apart families on the basis that the government can do a better job parenting your children than you can. It's a signal to Americans that the government has more authority over your child than you do, and that it will wield that authority if you give them any flimsy excuse.

I can't help but wonder how many parents keep their children locked up in America and under constant supervision, not because they're terrified they might come to harm or be kidnapped, but because the state will come down on them after one phone call from a nosy Karen. I have a very strong feeling that America isn't a country of helicopter parents, it's just filled with parents unwilling to risk being taken from their kids.

What kind of free country are we living in, if that's our mentality?

And what does this do to our children? Nothing good. //

Not that there hasn't been state-level pushback. To be fair, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Colorado, and others have been passing laws over the past five years that protect parents who let their kids roam.

My advice? Familiarize yourself with your state's laws, and if they're too tight, make it clear they need to be loosened. Make it a big deal. Get your friends and family involved. Get your neighbors to raise a stink about it.