When a country begins to slowly divert authority from a parent to the state, you know that fascism and totalitarianism are closing in. Mao and Hitler are well-known for their success at undermining the role a parent played in a child’s life by changing the cultural impression of authority to the state and away from the home.
A letter sent by a pediatric dental clinic in Pennsylvania recently underscored just how much faith people put in the government and how little faith they put in parents to make sound choices for their children. To make matters worse, this clinic seemed to be using a sickening fear tactic to get more business: threatening reports of neglect if patients were not kept up to date on their checkups.
The letter, sent by Smiles 4 Keeps in Scranton, PN, “Failure to bring your child for dental care is considered neglect. Smiles 4 Keeps has not reported your child’s outstanding dental treatment as of yet,” but concludes with the warning “To keep your child as healthy as possible and avoid a report to state authorities, please call Smiles 4 Keeps immediately to schedule an appointment.”
A picture of the letter quickly went viral, as parents found themselves shocked at the thinly veiled threat of this highly confrontational letter:
https://www.facebook.com/DenisenRae/posts/1727762100595147
Local parents and medical professionals were shocked by the “heavy-handedness” of the letter, reports local ABC Station, WNEP 16.
“How would you feel if you got a letter like this? I would be outraged,” said Liah Solarek of Wilkes-Barre, while Dr. Rich Grossman said “It doesn’t belong in a letter,” adding that he was “shocked that it’s a Pennsylvania group of dentists who’ve resorted to something like this.”
While no one from the Smiles 4 Keeps office that sent the letter was willing to speak to WNEP 16, a corporate spokeswoman told them that they reported 17 cases of neglect last year, yet plan to rewrite the letter because of complaints from the community.
This is extortion, plain and simple–bring your child in for check-ups or face punishment from the state. What kind of business would do this to patients they’re supposed to care for?!
WNEP 16 shares that those who received the letter and felt threatened by it can file a complaint with the State Attorney General Consumer Protection Bureau, which we would highly encourage.
