Census 2010: We Don't Count

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Nope, sorry, can't see them.

Life comes in cycles. Whether we have established electoral cycles because it is natural, or if this reinforces in us some innate need for repetition, what goes around ends up coming right back around again. Sometimes these things happen annually (i.e. Super Bowl, birthdays, anniversaries...definitely not in that order), biannually (House of Representatives elections... suggestions?), or every four years (presidential elections, the Olympics, the World Cup). Four years is getting on a long time; in some respects, it is just outside the scope of human memory. But how about 10 years? That's right, a decade. By comparison, that seems like a lifetime.
The United States Census happens every 10 years. The last one was the millennial Census 2000. Although it seems fairly droll--it is, after all, nothing more than a questionnaire required by law--it is hugely important. Congressional districts will be redrawn, the shape of the House of Representatives will change for the next 10 years, and federal funds will be reapportioned based on population. It is something that is routinely abused, but it is also one of the last, shining bastions of democracy in our nation that seems fraught by corruption and a disillusionment that comes from an increasingly isolated and hegemonic state. If you stand up (because you are required by law to do so) you will be counted. Beautiful.

Except for us. We don't count. As private-citizens living abroad not under contract to the federal government or in the armed services we cannot take part in the Census. Conceivably because we've unofficially sworn allegiance to a foreign power or something. I am legitimately disappointed in this. We should be sending our best and brightest abroad to represent the country in unofficial as well as official capacities. Those of us who are abroad actually tend to think more about the governance of America and its perception in the rest of the world far more than most Americans living on native soil do. So to find out that Census is taking place and that we can't take part is indeed a let down, if not a tad insulting.

When the next Census occurs we will be 35. Assuming that we are living in the US at that time, it will be the first time that we appear on the record. Who can say whether I will take it so seriously then as I do now?