I think fining and criminally prosecuting parents who don’t show up for parent-teacher conferences is absurd, though it would offend me less at the very local level. But I do think this is a good example of how the state expands when the civil society contracts. When individuals stop acting responsibly, government feels the need to step in and pick up the slack. It’s a small example of a very large point: the greatest invitation to statism is a society that won’t take care of itself. Or as I put it here, pick up your own d*mn cr*p.