Roses have thorns, and shining waters mud
And cancer lurks deep in the sweetest bud
Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun
And history reeks of the wrongs we have done
...poem by Sting

Well, it appears that my worry about how children are raised in New Zealand was well founded after all.

Here is an article about the recent vote.

Another country I've been eyeing fondly recently has been Sweden. Sweden outlawed corporal punishment thirty years ago. Here is a response from a member of parliament in Sweden to the news of the New Zealand initiative.

Amazing how adults have the audacity to want this latitude. Reminds me of laws about slavery in the Usa a century and a half ago. In a democracy, people do not have the right to vote to abuse those who do not have that same right to vote. It's really that simple. Even enfranchised minority groups need to be given special treatment in democracies, to ensure that their interests and rights are given their proper place. Give children the right to vote, and then see if they would vote for or against being beaten.