Isn't it about time for all to become Americans?

The decennial census is about to begin dividing citizens again. On the census form there are questions about race and ethnicity intended to assign every citizen to some nebulous social group. When a census taker knocks on your door and asks you racial or ethnic questions, you better answer like the government wants you to because it can cost you $100.00 to refuse!

The flaw in this massive effort is underscored by the opposition of the American Anthropological Association to census questions about race. That association’s position is that “Race” has no justification in human biology. The association’s position was advanced in 1997, has continued for every census since then and has been consistently ignored. "Race" is a fabrication whose roots are entangled with persisting prejudice.

Isn’t it about time for all of us to become Americans? For the past few months, I’ve been asking folks a few questions about themselves. The first one was, “What are the full names of your maternal and paternal great grandparents?" Not many adults know the answer. The USA seems to be a three generation nation-there’s us, our parents
and our grandparents-our next four ancestors (great grandparents) are usually lost to specific memory. If an American generation is about thirty years, most of us know about our family’s past for seventy to eighty years. Other than those concerned with their ancestry, the most generous estimate is that we only know about our family for one hundred years. Even if I fudge a little to make the point, most Americans begin their family history around 1900.

Next, I’ve been asking, “How did your family get to America?” Other than, “I don’t know," the most common answer was, “By boat.” Some came on a boat and others came in a boat. A few came overland from the south. Two said their ancestors were here at least 10,000 years before any European came by boat.

Finally I asked, “Did your great grandparents come to America in a boat?” The overwhelming reply was, “No, they were born here.” I think that’s about correct-most Americans who answer the 2020 census-taker were born here and raised in families that were born here all the way back to their great grandparents. Seems to me that after a continuous hundred years we should become Americans.

As early as 1820, census Tabulators started asking who was “Colored.” In 1850, the terms
“Black” and “Mulatto” were added. By 1890 the differentiation included Japanese, Chinese and those from the Indian sub-continent. The “One drop-of blood” concept was introduced in 1930. The “Japanese” differentiation was later used to justify the internment of over 65,000 citizens during WWII.

Census questions about race have no genetic or biologic basis and have only served to divide us. The federal government does not need self- identification or social definition census questions to apportion congressional seats or to accurately determine the population.

So, why is our government still trying to divide us, to classify us, to put each of us in some slice of a fictitious federal racial or ethnic pie? The current answer is: To justify the Federal budget priorities and to aid civil rights policies.

Seems to me that the continuing unintended negative consequences of census race questions ought to justify their removal. There are just two census groups of people in this country: Americans and Guests.