I have in front of me a form that I can sign and return that would exempt my daughter from filling out the “Healthy Youth Survey 2006”. I understand this data is being collected to guide social programs for children run by the State of WA.

Let me share my thoughts.

First, I am grateful to have the opportunity to opt out. From my perspective, these are the pros and cons of this decision:

In favor of allowing the survey to taken:

1. It’s the easy choice. I don’t have to do anything.  
2. It’s free. The survey is paid for by smokers in the form of fines levied on tobacco companies, who then transfer this cost back to their customers. Since I don’t smoke, I don’t care. I may even be doing smokers a favor by creating an incentive for them to quit. In any event, the television and newspapers have explained to me that smokers are really attacking me; I should expect some compensation. I have some minor moral and practical concerns about the conflict of interest that is created when new government programs are funded on an on-going basis by a regressive tax on smokers, but this too far away from my day to day life to matter too much. I’m relatively sure that my industry will never become the next source of government program funding by virtue of being collectively deemed a social evil. Hopeful, at least.
3. I won’t create an uncomfortable social situation for my daughter by having her be escorted out of the classroom with what I expect is a tiny number of other students because their parents hold extreme views.  
4. I won’t create any forbidden fruit that will have the undesired side effect of making my daughter far more interested in whatever the survey covers that has the adults so wigged out.  
5. The survey will produce lots of questions from my daughter, and these will serve as a good launching pad for rich dialog.

 In favor of disallowing the survey: 

1. I don’t want my lack of action to be interpreted by anyone as implicit support for the ever expanding WA Nanny State, or the social engineering + education package deal that seems to be creeping into the public school system. Indeed I’m writing this email to express my sincere objection to the idea that parents are less capable, willing and responsible to raise their children in a healthy manner than committees of government experts. I left my country of birth in part to escape such thinking and I don’t welcome it following me. 
2. I would have the satisfaction of doing something, indeed anything at all, to shelter my daughter from the maturation timeline that committees of government experts have decided everyone will track to, as opposed to one that is natural for each individual and family. Then again, point 4 above would likely render this a useless gesture, so strike this entire line of reasoning.

Points 3-5 above sway me. Please proceed.

Thanks.

Mike