I could not recover from amidst the shreds of paper and waste that, which is the subject of this blog entry. For the nth time in the past few months the National Survey On Freedom Tolerance And Equality arrived in the mail. Having had some precious free time, I used some of it to look through the high piled stack of mail, bills, receipts and correspondence. It is a chore I dread most, ranking as my most hated, more irritating than folding laundry because in addition to requiring petty meticulousness it also necessitates paying attention. The envelope containing the National Survey from ACLU was among the last ones opened. Although already familiar with the text I read through it once again, agreeing with the causes the organization stands for and thinking it deserves my support. After all I remember being angered and dismayed at how dutifully we trace our daily commute to work, day in and day out, while the current administration literally gets away with murder and promotes machinations designed to further line the inner pockets of the richest few. By not objecting we are all accomplices standing for the degradation of our civil liberties, and disrespectful disregard to other nations of the world. I also know the deep frustration and a sense of helplessness. How can one individual change anything - how can I, make a difference? The answer seemingly arrived in the form of that envelope. What better way than joining with others and supporting a non profit organization which clusters together many more similar minded individuals who on their own are voiceless and weightless?
I filled out the Survey and hesitated. A “National Survey On Freedom Tolerance And Equality” - is a BIG title commanding authority and credibility, yet the 10 questions constituting the survey are shamefully leading in their formulation. They aren’t stated in an objective non partisan manner encouraging free thought and a personal conclusion, instead they are dummed down to solicit an automatically affirmative answer. Here is an example:
1. I believe freedom to follow one’s own religious belief is fundamental and that the government should stay out of religion and leave us all to practice any religion in our own way.
The mutliple choice answers are: 1. Yes 2. No 3. Not Sure. And so on, on the topics of privacy, women’s rights, abortion, gay marriage. If it is an affirmation of the 10 guiding principles of the organization - I support it whole heartedly, but by no means it should pretend to be a survey. According to CASRO and its first principle of Interview Design Guidelines:
The key criteria for the design of the quantitative questionnaire or qualitative interview guide are: The questions and questioning procedures are unbiased. The wording of the interview questions does not predetermine the answers to the research questions. The questioning and analytical procedures allow responses over the entire range relevant to the research objectives.
And so, the National Survey on Freedom Tolerance and Equality ended up shredded in my waste bin and I posted my opinion on ACLU’s website. To their credit, I received a prompt response and a case record no. While trying to recover the exact wording of the Survey I had to resort to online sources.
The only full verbatim transcription of it I was able to find is on a right wing blog mixed in with testosterone drenched commentary. Somewhat reluctantly here it is , read and marvel how the same values I uphold as noble are derided by another, ironically also a resident of California, possibly not too many miles away, subject to the same environment and responding to the same events.