America's contemporary authoritarians justify all their intrusions on liberty on the grounds of protecting the young.

Whoever said that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel reckoned not with the power of "do it for the kids." From Hillary Clinton (It Takes a Village) to Rick Santorum (It Takes a Family), America's contemporary authoritarians justify all their intrusions on liberty on the grounds of protecting children. Banning gay marriage, regulating television violence, the drug war, government tracking and databases, banning "raves," global warming regulation, videogame regulation, regulating sexual content on television--it's all justified with the claim "it's for the children."

Now in response to a proposed law to ban the spanking of small children, the governor of California has summed up the all-about-the-children mentality with his usual pith:

"I think any time we try to pass laws that say you've got to protect the kids, it's, in general, always good."