Don't be a Kermudgeon

One of our recent class discussions got me thinking about the U.S. Census Bureau; it's purpose and how it's received by the American public. Filling out the census form once every 10 years per household is important, no--it's crucial to having prosperous communities and receiving federal funding in our local communities among many other things that effect all of us.

I understand there is a popular mistrust in our government and it's policies, and I am one of those people, too. I also understand how it can be perceived as an invasion of privacy. Is it really necessary for them to know, even indirectly, that my brother came to live with me for a few months because he had no where else to go? Many of us are just plain scared of why this information is needed, scared of repercussion. 

Honestly, if the government wants information about us, then they'll find a way to get it. We basically give out more information to our cell phone provider than we're willing to give a form that is sent by the government. It's not difficult to look at pictures of our homes and yards via satellite maps, or just google our names on the internet and look at our social networking pages--there are tons of ways to get very personal information without ever asking us. 

We have to get over these insecurities and feelings of violation and be willing to grasp the bigger picture. The government needs to know where populations are growing to know where to construct new roads, build newer and bigger schools, provide more sources for jobs, and something else that I didn't realize until I looked into it--this information also helps distribute among states the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. How is this not important? I also started to wonder about natural disasters, and how vital the information on the census could be for emergency services to prepare and be capable of handling such distress--and guess what--the census is involved with that, too!

I know there is a lot of corruption when it comes to our government, but I really think that the census is important at this time especially. We need to track everyone, not to annoy them or invade their privacy, but to plan for our future (We know we have a "problem" with illegal immigration, we have for a very long time, it's not going to go away just because we are afraid of being truthful on our census forms). Just think of how many more jobs can open up for future generations with more information about the nation's people and economy.