The waste of resources involved in forwarding such junk-mail is not insignificant, but on a personal level, the real travesty is the slap in the face of what is being asked of me. The letter states:
Dear Petty Officer Lakemacher,You have been selected to participate in the August 2009 Status of Forces Survey of Active Duty Members ... It will ask for your opinions on a variety of policies and programs that will improve the workplace and family life for all military members. While your participation is desired, it is entirely voluntary.I urge you to share your perspective on these important issues. This is your chance to influence the formulation of military personnel policies. These surveys are Official Business and can be completed at your duty station, using government equipment ...
The rest of the legal size card stock page goes on to detail information about accessing the survey online as well as enclosing a perforated tear-out card "designed to fit in your wallet."
Apparently I've been wrong all along about those in the military not caring about me. The reality is that they care so much that despite my having written thousands of words condemning their actions and repeatedly asking to be released from their pool of forced labor, they are giving me the "chance to influence the formulation of military personnel policies."
Oh, but just when I thought they were interested in me as an individual, the truth comes back through the following statements that are found toward the end of the letters:
I assure you that your responses will be kept confidential. All data will be reported in the aggregate and no individual data will be reported.
Whew, for a second I thought I was dreaming and had escaped what I've come to know as the completely communized institution that is the United States Navy. However, just when I had my doubts, they added the reassurance that I had no need to worry about being recognized and respected as an individual because "all data will be reported in the aggregate."
Of course, any adept "Master" knows better than to actually seek individual feedback in a personal way. After all, to do that might end up enabling people to feel justified in some manner of dissent or discontent. No, no, these authoritarians are well-versed in collectivism, and instead provide a computerized form with ready-made options of whether one would rather be forced to do "X" or forced to do "Y".
It's really kind of like voting. If you can convince people that they're somehow making a difference, and thus are personally responsible for their own mistreatment, they call their slavery freedom and persecute their fellow slaves without the "Master" even having to raise the whip. Notice how just like voting, it was explicitly emphasized that my participation is "entirely voluntary." If it's so voluntary, how about I don't give you my feedback and you don't threaten me with force if I don't do what you say. This, of course, is never an option because again like voting, whether you participate or not, people with guns will tell you what to do and claim justification based on your having voted (or at least had the opportunity).
A final similarity is found in the aspects of anonymity and aggregation. Only an individual has volition, and therefore, only an individual can make a decision and enact it. In this way, voting is really no different than an anonymous public opinion survey in which the available choices have been limited to only those options pre-approved by the rulers. For instance, I can present my friends with the chance to anonymously vote over which of two movies to watch, but when they open their eyes it would be a complete misnomer to claim that they chose the film so they have nobody to blame but themselves if they don't like it.
Freedom has nothing to do with voting and opinion surveys, and it has everything to do with not having force initiated against you.
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