Here’s an image that showed up on my Facebook feed this afternoon.

It stands out among those infuriating postings that call me to take action, to express empathy and concern, for people who are in fact being ridiculous and self-aggrandizing.

I am of course not indifferent to the little girl who holds up the poster which has so clearly been written by an adult desperate to modify her father’s behavior. If we actually believe the poster’s announcement, it was written by that father himself.

Did he actually do this—actually write the announcement, actually pose his lovely daughter holding it, and actually promise to do what any intelligent parent would do, but only if those thousand “likes” pour in? Oh, lord!

If a thousand likes will do the trick, please, Dad, simply do it yourself. Don’t make your daughter carry water for you here. Whoever you are, we don’t want you to dodge emphysema or the Big C solely because you have a delightful little girl. We’d oppose your carcinogenic choices even if you had no family at all.

Here’s what you should do: Quit smoking for her. And for yourself.

Whatever you do, please stop suggesting that if we don’t “like” her supposed efforts – if we don’t honor her needs in this tawdry way – you’ll simply go on killing yourself.

And thus neglecting her.