Our whacked-out government has decided that the upcoming census should include a citizenship question, something America quit doing in the 1950s.
Why do we count people? To determine congressional representation and distribution. It has been used to allow political parties to gerrymander districts in order to ensure the highest number of their own people get to represent them in both state and national legislative bodies. It also allows governmental budget makers and bean counters to decide whom to tax by how much to either fund or de-fund upcoming budgets. And let's not forget the impact of packing our judicial system with judges who lean in one direction or another.
Historically, our forefathers loaded the dice from the very beginning when white property owners counted more than others. They wanted the "right" people to build this country. The "wrong" people counted, literally, less. They couldn't even vote in order to make changes in the system. Nearly all of us today agree that policy was wrong, inhuman, swaying power to the wealthy white men. We have amended our constitution to correct those inequities. Unfortunately, the relative few who agree with the original system have regained power in our government and are busy dismantling your rights.
Why is a citizenship question important? Not only does it generate fear in those who fear deportation, while still contributing to society by their work and their taxes, but that fear leads them to not answer the census. The result of this is they don't count! Literally! Not only do they not count, but other members of a family with, say, one undocumented immigrant and a citizen spouse and perhaps several citizen children, don't count either. It's no accident that a large number of these are brown skinned.
It's also no accident that our darker skinned population tend to vote for the Democratic candidates on the ballot. They're not stupid about where their interests lie. All the fear mongering among Republicans about non-citizens voting has been shown time and again to be hogwash. Unfortunately, Republicans have done a great job of finding ways of blocking our darker skinned citizens from turning up at the polls. This is just another sneaky tactic.
Right now this proposed census question is in the courts system. It may get knocked down. It may sail through. Time will tell. But if it does go through, how about the rest of us agree to boycott that question? Don't answer yes or no. Simply fill the rest of the paperwork out but leave that space blank. Spread the word to others. Let's get the government back to counting heads, not citizens; people, not white folks.
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