Our children are once again under assault in the guise of helping them. Despite the constant liberal echo chamber that says it's always about "the children," it is really more often about the nanny state. My eleven-year old granddaughter who is in the sixth grade here in Massachusettes is soon to be surveyed about her nutritional habits .. good intentions, no? But like most things here in this road-to-hell state of a fake-Indian Senator and Indian pudding, this survey from the Massachusetts Office of Food and Nutrition took a left turn in its design ... and now deals with many non-nutritional issues in its daunting 99 questions. For instance, what do the following sample questions from the last survey have to do with food and nutrition?
- A transgender person is someone whose biological sex at birth does not match the way they think or feel about themselves. Are you transgender?
- During the last 30 days, on how many days did you carry a weapon such as a gun, knife or club?
- Has anyone ever had sexual contact with you against your will?
- Have you ever tried smoking cigarettes, even one or two puffs?
- During your life, on how many days have you had at least one drink of alcohol?
- During your life, how many times have you used marijuana?
And on and on ... This state agency has used its authority and good intentions to take a can opener to the private lives of Massachusetts families. Yes, this survey says that respondents will remain anonymous and will suffer no repercussions ... but dollars to donuts they are lying and some poor six-grade schlub who believed that his/her parents allowing a sip of wine on a special occasion was OK will now find a posse of do-gooder state-ists putting their family in the parental-abuse docks. And does anyone truly believe that any heads-up gang-banger-to-be is going to answer the weapons question in the affermative? The naïveté of these survey designers is mind-boggling.
For those of you, who are as incensed as my son and I are at this state intrusiveness, please spend some time viewing what my granddaughter is likely to be asked to fess up to about her family life ... see: Youth Risk Behavior Survey. There are many other ways for dealing with the social problems that this survey is trying to address. I suggest that the Massachusetts Office of Food and Nutrition investigate some of these alternatives. And I have also suggested that my granddaughter decline answering any of these neb-nose questions.
3 comments:
Do you think that the children:
(a) Provide accurate answers
(b) Provide answers that make them seem angelic.
(c) Provide answers that make them seem 'bad'
Probably all three ... depending on their backgrounds. So what's the purpose of the survey? If you have taught your children to be honest, you should resent such an intrusion into your family life.
As a Catholic school kid, even *thinking* about any of the vices you mentioned would cost you several million days of grace in heaven. Nothing to trifle with in the scope of eternity.
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