"Utopia is the opiate of the people."

If V. Lenin were a little more reflective, he might have said that instead. I was thinking of this when I read the practice parameters for disruptive behavior disorders in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry today. I reflected on my daughter's experience with her eighth grade class. Pretty clearly some of the kids revealed a need for (behavior) problem solving skills. Rather than approach this with any attempt at objectivity, the school was wont to deny that there was any need. The reason: the public law that says 'every child must be provided with the means to an education.' That legally makes the school system financially responsible. This leads to a political enforced standoff where the school will provide a nurse-teacher for autistic and MR children but do its best not to notice other problems. Such is state provided utopia.