"It's In Our Hands"

People watching is one of my favorite activites. Some of my favorite places to people watch include, but are not limited to, airports, coffee shops, city parks and public transit. I know I share the joy of inconspicuously creeping on others with quite a few individuals. We're curious beings and we enjoy seeing what others are up to, how they react to those around them, and hearing the crazy things they say.

But have you ever considered people counting? I have never cared about people counting, though I believe people count.

The 2010 Census is this year. Half my readers just got bored and left the blog. But hear me out. I wound up at the 2010 Census committee meeting this week and learned quite a few interesting facts. More importantly, I learned why we take a census and why it's important. I also wound up with a rather large bag packed with promo items (like luggage tags, water bottles, a free tshirt, pens, notepads, flashlights, etc) and flyers. I left with  feeling of responsibility to spread the word about the census.

Some quick facts every should know:
Census day is April 1, and you should recieve a form in the mail mid-March.
Ten questions, takes ten minutes, every ten years.
Census information can't even be accessed by the FBI - everything is confidential to the nth degree.
Information from the census affects not only things like community funding, parks, school districts, numbers of emergency workers, public transportation, and better roads - it also impacts the political future of our country. Unless Minnesota counts 4000 additional persons since the last census, we will lose a seat in the House of Representatives. We probably shouldn't let that happen.

Immigrants and students are big target populations because they may not know the importance of filling out the survey, often live in transitional housing, or do not trust governmental workers or systems. Assure those from other countries that immigration status will not be counted, registered, or available to any questioning parties. We just need to know how many people reside in our state.

I think the census is important, and I hope you do, too. It's our future and we should have a say. To find out more, check out http://www.2010census.gov/, or stop by my place to get a neon luggage tag or a sweet water bottle or something.