Casey Anthony - guilty, or not?

[Jess]

Originally Posted by Heart

Whenever I hear/read about making parents more responsible/accountable, I consider how we live in one of the most family UNfriendly countries in the world, (so-called "family values," notwithstanding). With no universal child-care, afterschool or health care, no meaningful paid maternity/paternity leave, ever-shrinking access to free family planning and mental health care, not to mention lack of affordable housing and livable wages in many sectors, it's a wonder most parents do as well as they do.

This has nothing to do with this awful case, per se, but if we had these things in place, as many other devloped countries do, it would be a heck of a lot easier to weed out the truly pathological parent from the over-stressed, under-resourced parent.

But these issues are complex, and require long-term solutions. It's easier to rant about a head-line grabbing case, whipped into a frenzy by the Nancy Graces of the tabloid media, and push through rightous and emotional legislation that may hurt innocent parents and their children.*

Heart

*not personal to anyone here, just my viewpoint.

I totally agree that these issues are complicated and need to be addressed thoroughly when creating laws to protect children/ families.

The change.org petition was the immediate reaction of a concerned, well meaning citizen, who "acted" and if nothing else, will bring attention from law makers to begin to research the proper actions to take regarding missing, exploited and abused children. It is merely a stepping stone and without proper legalese would never become an actual law.

While it may not be THE answer legally, it is a beginning and is bringing about discourse such as this. For that, I am grateful. I firmly believe that the more concerned citizens become aware and involved in the process, the more comprehensive our laws can become. It will be voices exactly like yours Heart, whom have the first hand knowledge of the inner workings of our social systems that will be and are some of the most needed.

Thank you for what you do for families. I can only imagine the frustration on the part of people who are in the trenches trying to sincerely get "actual" support where it is truly needed and that is usually way before this type of incident ever happens.