WASHINGTON ¨C Viewing 2016 in retrospect ¡ª doing so is unpleasant, but less so than was living through it ¡ª the year resembles a china shop after a visit from an especially maladroit bull.

Because a law says ¡°the state of California may not sell or display the Battle Flag of the Confederacy ... or any similar image,¡± a painting of the 1864 Siege of Atlanta was banned from display at the Fresno County fair. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services churned out a 25-page policy statement about ¡°the systematic inclusion of families in activities and programs that promote children¡¯s development, learning, and wellness.¡± That is, government should provide, as an act of grace ¡ª systematic grace ¡ª a role for parents in raising their children.

Let freedom ring, in the nooks and crannies of the administrative state: One day a year ¡ª Lemonade Day ¡ª children in Austin, Texas, can sell the stuff without spending $460 on various fees, licenses and permits. Twelve-year olds in a Tampa middle school, learning about ¡°how much privilege¡± they have, were asked if they were ¡°Cisgendered,¡± ¡°Transgendered¡± or ¡°Genderqueer.¡± Two years after Emma was the most common name given to baby American girls, the trend was toward supposedly gender-neutral baby names (e.g., Lincoln, Max, Arlo) lest the child feel enslaved to stereotypes.