I do sometimes try to think of how different the world might be if leaders like MLK were still around.
Would he be untroubled by the fact that many black fathers don't have contact with their children, or parental rights, even when they've done nothing wrong and so on?
The massive civil rights movement he started so courageously, whilst facing unimagineable hardship and injustice, should make us careful about any comparisons we try to make I know. Still, giving human rights to sections of the community who didn't have them, does seem to have corresponded with a diminution of rights for parents (is that your reading of the situation?).
I've just mentioned in my post to Gecko that a great moral philosopher called Ferdinand Schoeman says our society isn't taking into account the basic motivations or needs of mankind. I hope you agree that is important in your campaigning or legal challenges your making - I hope it supports your case of course.
Our Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the church of England has just been quoted as saying there is a crisis amongst young people who haven't experienced loving relationships or proper childhoods now becoming parents themselves. Every time this gets mentioned I wish to point out how many of us have no say at all in how our children's lives are progressing - I hope he gives this some thought too (I keep passing on my thoughts to his deputy Dr. John Sentamu as you know).
I agree with you that "most people will always play whatever game happens to be going around at any one moment". In fact through my work training I did get some insights into mind games etc. as understood by practitioners of "transactional amalysis". Are you being the "dominant parent" and me the "submissive child" in these exchanges or vice versa?
I hope you followed that and can find something useful in my recent posts.
All the very best, Graham