Should we allow the government the right to intervene when it comes to naming our children?
Countries like New Zealand, Sweden, and Denmark are a few that have put restrictions on naming children, all of which protect children from potentially embarrassing or hurtful names.
A name is only a name, right?
Sticks and stones may break my bones, and words may also too. In an article from nydailynews.com, “Being called a name can hurt -- even if it's the name your parents chose for you.” The article goes on to talk about research published by the journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science. They concluded multiple experiments involving 12,000 adult participants who, “found that a bad first name can not only ruin your self-esteem, but it may actually make you lonelier and dumber.” Going further then that, in a “trend across all sub-experiments,” it indicated that people with unfortunate first names were more likely to smoke, be less educated and have lower self-esteem compared to people with more common names.
Flipping the script, according to an article by the Star-Ledger, “A Superior Court judge has decided that a self-proclaimed Nazi from Holland Township and his wife cannot take back their four children, three of whom were named in honor of the Nazis” This couple has been fighting for the right to their children since 2008 when they tried to get their, then, 3-year-old son Adolf Hitler Campbell a birthday cake. The courts have stated that the children were removed from the parent’s custody due to the fathers abusive behavior. Lawyers on both sides have been silenced by a gag order. Reported in an article by nytimes, “Mr. Campbell’s choices have prompted a debate over whether provocative names alone should be considered child abuse.” In addition, a report by ABC News , Campbell was also noted to have said, "They need to accept a name. A name's a name. The kid isn't going to grow up and do what (Hitler) did." I agree with Campbell's last statement. He will not do what Hitler did because the government intervened. Reported by another article by, ABC News, young Adolf has made threats, including, "I'm going to kill you" as he threatened one of his younger sisters with a vacuum. We can only hope that Adolf will not go on to do the terrible things Hitler did, but, who can say, who Adolf would have become if no one intervened.
Difference of opinion
One side of the argument is focusing on the effects of these “unusual names” on children during early development. Some believe we need name restrictions to help these children who have no choice in the name they are given. By pointing out these negative effects, I believe that more people are willing to listen and understand why restrictions may be needed.
The other side wants to look at the freedoms that we are granted in the United States. They believe they should have the right to name their children anything they want because that is what freedom means to them. Some parents aren't responsible enough to handle that freedom, which is why this comes to question. These extremist tend to push the envelope so far that we start to question if we should limit that freedom.
Challenges
It isn't easy to ask people to limit their freedoms, however it is necessary to ensure the welfare of the children. The people who oppose name restrictions will argue, who will have the right to say whether a name is acceptable or not, what kind of restrictions would need to be enforced, and would every state have the same restrictions? Another challenge would be to make this issue relate to everyone by showing them that a name is not just a name.
For more information, check out the following:
Adolf Hitler Campbell
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/adolf-hitler-campbell-custody-battle-nazi-names-new-jersey_n_1561046.html
Denmark
http://www.perfect-baby-names.com/Danish-baby-names-article.html
Sweden
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2090401/Swedish-parents-win-legal-battle-to-name-their-children-Lego-Elvis-and-Metallica.html
Unusual Name: Study
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/badly-chosen-baby-names-lead-self-esteem-education-smoking-study-article-1.1002198#ixzz2MuVu3kAw
This is a very intriguing issue - one that requires a bit of a balancing act to argue about. On one hand, the very idea of government restriction on how a child is named sounds very "big brother-ish" and would likely not gain public support. However, when the specific examples are introduced (Adolph Hitler Campbell), many people are immediately sympathetic to the children with those controversial names - and apparently willing to consider some sort of law or ban. How are such efforts being waged? Are there people in government trying to introduce legislation? Are there advocacy groups attempting to parley public support into legal action?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the "unusual names" issue ( i.e. your sister's experience) is not quite the same. While I certainly sympathize and wonder how a parent could be so oblivious to the idea of a child being ridiculed or bullied, I would not be so quick to endorse the idea of some sort of government criteria to this very personal decision. When a person becomes an adult, they are entitled to change their name however they wish - look at the eccentric athletes like Metta World Peace or Chad Ocho Cinco. It is true that a child does not have those legal rights, so are you really talking about rights of children? You make a compelling case here - but now we want you to shift into analyst mode. Let me know how I can help.