You Can’t Say That in My State!
Source: Matthew Barakat, "Rosemond sues board targeting his columns," Omaha World-Herald, July 17, 2013.
John Rosemond has been writing a syndicated newspaper column on parenting since 1976. He takes a conservative, no-nonsense approach that dismisses modern psychology -- pointing out the children have been successfully raised for thousands of years with simple techniques that until recently everyone took for granted.
Well, T. Kerby Neil, a retired psychologist did not like one of Mr. Rosemond's columns where he told the parents of an unruly, over-indulged teenager to take away his privileges and strip his bedroom of all unnecessary things until his behavior improved. "Neil said he does not believe Rosemond should be giving specific advice to people he has not personally examined." To Mr. Neil's surprise, the Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology took the complaint and ran with it. Joined by the state's attorney general, a cease-and-desist order was issued against Mr. Rosemond. They want Mr. Rosemond to stop calling himself a psychologist and no longer answer questions in his columns.
The strange thing is that John Rosemond is a psychologist, just not in Kentucky. His license is in North Carolina where he lives and has his practice. So Mr. Rosemond is fighting back. By the way, Mr. Neil thinks his state went too far with his complaint.
People have long sought to regulate ideas they disagree with. "That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the LORD; who say to the seers, "Do not see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us" " (Isaiah 30:9-11). It stems from pride. People cannot believe any other view than their own can possibly be true; therefore, a contrary view must be harmful to people. "Therefore the princes said to the king, "Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm" " (Jeremiah 38:4).
What is left out is any concern for the real truth. Only agreeable things are deemed to be true. Thus, truth is suppressed by the wicked.
