“globalism,” whether economic, political,nor cultural.nThe globalization of law enforcementnthat the Justice Department hasnrationalized and that the Bush administrationnhas at least implicitly adoptednby putting Gen. Noriega in the dock isnsimply the most recent instance of thencontinuing globalist effort to transcendnnational sovereignty and identity andndiminish the very concept of nationality.nWhen nationality and its institutionsnhave been sufficiently worn away,nAmericans may find that playing globalnpoliceman affords them far less securitynthan just minding their own business.n— Samuel FrancisnPEGGY BUCKEY’S ACQUITtalnand the acquittal of her sonnRaymond Buckey on 52 counts ofnchild molestation brought an end to anhighly publicized and exhausting criminalntrial. Less noticed, perhaps, werenpostmortems on the case by jury members,nwho described the excesses andnstrange ironies of a governmental crusaden”to save our children.”nThe saga began in August 1983,nwhen the mother of a child at thenMcMartin Preschool in ManhattannBeach, California, called police claimingnthat her two-year-old son had beennsexually molested by Mr. Buckey.nOver the next eight months, prosecutorsnand allied social workers interviewedn400 children, eventually listingn41 as victims. Children told stories thatnranged from watching a rabbit beingnsacrificed on a church altar to beingnmolested in a car-wash bathroom. ThenBuckeys were jailed, without bail, innMarch 1984, and the trial began innApril 1987, ending only this January.nThe “crusade” atmosphere surroundingnthe trial reflected mountingnpublic attention to child abuse. Thisnsurge in interest began in the earlyn1960’s, when physicians first coinednthe phrase, “battered child syndrome.”nPopular magazines such as Life, GoodnHousekeeping, and The Saturday EveningnPost soon began thumping thendrums about “Parents Who Beat Children.”nIn quick succession, all 50 statesnadopted “reporting laws” that requirednphysicians, teachers, and social workersnto report suspected child abuse cases.nIn the effort to protect children,nthese laws also circumscribed a varietynof ancient legal protections. Theyncommonly denied physician-patientnand husband-wife privileges under thenrules of evidence, and gave immunitynfrom civil or criminal liability to thosenreporting suspected abusers. More ominously,nthese laws carried a presumptionnof parental guilt (often involvingnthe seizure of children) until parentsncould establish their innocence.nPropaganda campaigns by the federalngovernment, state child-protectionnagencies, and interested professionalnassociations (e.g.. National Associationnof Social Workers) stressed that “allnchildren are at risk.” Televisionndocudramas gave particular attentionnto the crimes of natural parents inntraditional families. Reports of abusenmushroomed, climbing to well overnone million each year. Some medianestimates stated that six million childrennare abused annually.nProsecutors quickly discovered thatnpolitical reputations could be made bynjailing suspected child abusers. Therapistsnfound a lucrative new fieldn($ 1,000 a day and up) and noted that,nunder sufficient pressure, childrennwould tell all kinds of stories aboutntheir parents. Social workers introducednanatomically correct dolls, tonhelp children break through their inhibitionsnand “role-play.” At other times,nchildren were told that if they revealednthe “truth” about their parents, thenfamilies might be reunited.nLost in the self-serving hysteria overnthe crimes of traditional families werencertain truths about child abuse. Honestnresearch showed that stepchildrennand the offspring of “female-headednfamilies” were the children truly at risk.nIndeed, an article in The Journal ofnEthology and Sociobiology concludednthat “preschoolers living with one naturaln[parent] and one stepparent weren40 times more likely to become childnabuse cases than were like-aged childrennliving with two natural parents.”nAnother study showed a remarkablynhigh correlation between maternal employmentnand child homocide.nAlso lost was attention to the prevalencenof child abuse in the burgeoningndaycare industry. “Youth work” hasnalways attracted the pedophiles, andndaycare is surely no exception. Indeed,nit offers the pedophilic minority up tonten hours a day, five days a week tonexercise their charm and control. Evennnnin California, from 200 to 300 daycarencenters are regularly under investigation,nprimarily for allegations of sexualnabuse. However, most of these casesnhave been kept out of the newspapers,nbecause political elites are pressing forna national daycare system.nThe exception proving the rule wasnthe McMartin case, where two trendyncrusades (“the critical need for morendaycare” and “get the child abusers”)ncollided.nIn explaining their reasons for acquittal,nthe jurors who would talknagreed that the crimes had been committed.nOne said that the childrenninvolved had been molested “in somensense, by someone.” Another reported:n”I believe in my heart” that thenchildren were molested.nHowever, the jurors also expressednstrong criticism of the techniques usednby social workers to wring informationnout of the children. As one explained:n”the interviewers asked leading questionsnin such a manner that we neverngot the children’s stories in their ownnwords.” Others complained about thenuse of anatomically complete dolls,nand cited the bizarre tales spun bynchildren unable to separate facts fromnfantasy.nPredictably, the leading punditsnhave used the results of the McMartinncase to call for the tighter regulation ofndaycare centers, greater state funding,nand new restrictions on the legal rightsnof the accused (such as child testimonynvia remote television). As before, thendisarray caused by prior state interventionnis used to justify more government.nThe proper response is to recognizenthat children are best protected fromnphysical and sexual abuse in intact,ntraditional homes. If politicians are seriousnabout preventing child abuse, theynwill do whatever they can to supportnsuch homes. Possibilities include substantialntax cuts targeted for familiesnwith children and toughened marriagenlaws that reverse that other legal disasterninherited from.the I960’s: no-faultndivorce.nChild-protection laws, meanwhile,nshould be brought back in line withncommon law precepts: providing precisenlegal definitions of neglect andnabuse; guaranteeing legal representation,nrules-of-evidence, and due processnin child-removal situations; recog-nAPRIL 1990/7n