by Joshua Jongema – Secretary
The LP Platform 1.1 on Self-Ownership states, “Individuals own their bodies and have rights over them that other individuals, groups, and governments may not violate. Individuals have the freedom and responsibility to decide what they knowingly and voluntarily consume, and what risks they accept to their own health, finances, safety, or life.”
Whether you disagree with a school’s policy in one direction or another, every person’s child is theirs alone to protect and direct until that child grows to become capable of protecting and directing itself. The child’s education is solely the decision of the parent, and not the state.
Our wise government has pushed policies that have in effect been divisive, and have turned common people against each other with cycles of fear mongering on both sides of the aisle. While the situation may seem bleak, many people from all sides have come together for liberty. Libertarians believe in the adaptive potential of the free market to provide a solution for any social issue, from private security and courts, to ending regulatory licensure altogether.
Homeschooling is a libertarian solution for people who may opt to take their children out of public schooling for any given reason this September. Last spring, the US was reported to have doubled in the number of students home schooled.
Last fall, Michigan public schools were reported to lose over 60,000 students, with numbers continuing to drop. The Upper Peninsula has a number of homeschooling organizations available for those who seek it, both religious and non-religious.
As we continue to spin in this world of uncertainty, what’s rather clear is that individuals will care for themselves better than others are willing to care for them, and that parents will care for their children better than any unelected bureaucrat, special or foreign interest group, billionaire, stock owner or investor. Consider homeschooling as an option for your children this year, and remember that where there is a will, there is a way for liberty.
Upper Peninsula Libertarian Party 