That may seem like a silly question, but in some corners of the country it really may be in doubt. Apparently in Waltham Massachusetts, the government owns your kids, or at least, that is how it would appear to one family. Sierra Times writes about two home-schooling parents, Kim and George Bryant. The Bryant's home-schooling has raised the ire of the Waltham Public School system (WPS), who wants them to fill out forms, file paperwork, and administer government mandated tests to assess the children's education level. When the Bryants refused, WPS went so far as to enlist the Department of Social Services (DSS) to seize their children.

When DSS officials and police officers showed up to take the children away, DSS trooper Susan Etscovitz apparently told the Bryants, "We have the legal custody of the children and we will do with them as we see fit. They are minors and they do what we tell them to do." I can only imagine how this would make a parent feel.

That statement seemed to strike a chord with parents across the country, because the DSS and Susan Etscovitz have been deluged by some less than flattering letters. I'm sure some of them even questioned the marital status of Susan's parents. DSS spokesman Denise Montero had this to say to the media: "There have been calls from all over the country, threatening Susan's life and children. We have had to change her phone number and not allow her to check her e-mail account... ...The ultra-conservatives and Bible-thumpers have inundated us with threats and phone calls. No one deserves to be threatened..."

Indeed she is correct. Threats and intimidation are no way to conduct yourself (nor is namecalling for that matter). However, as Sierra Times points out, threats and intimidation seemed to be a justifiable vehicle for the WPS and DSS to use against the Bryants. They noted that "when it comes to government officials, their threats don't count, or are done under the 'color of law'."

So according to the Waltham Massachusetts Department of Social Services, it is justifiable to show up with armed government agents, and use the threat of lethal force to seize children from a home where no abuse has been demonstrated to have taken place. However, it is altogether unjustifiable for the public to express outrage, sometimes through threats and intimidation. That doesn't seem like a very level playing field to me. But then, when has it ever been?

Perhaps we should return to the good old days of one-room school houses, or home schooled chil'ens. I mean, it used to be that if your kid didn't do enough book learnin' in school he simply ended up tearin' tickets at the tilt-a-whirl. Ok, so maybe that isn't the best solution. But have we come so far that you can have your children taken away, merely because you didn't fill out some government mandated forms? It all seems very authoritarian to me. Then again, I'm just a "bible thumper" or an "ultra-conservative".