“Transparency” is the current buzzword for the frank and fair conduct of our government readily discerned by the citizenry. In the theory behind our Constitution, the people have the right to know what our government does from day to day.
If the politicians try to hide shenanigans from the people, the press is there to ferret out and make public the transgressions. Even more to the transparent ideal, the president is required to explain to Congress, “from time to time,” the state of the union.
For that state of the union report to be fully transparent, we must have an accurate count and description of who the people are. So, doesn’t it follow that we have the right to know who is living here and whether they are citizens? This accurate national census is critical to what today we call national security, but what in 1787 was called the national happiness.
Because we have no idea how many people live illegally in the United States, it is proposed that the 2020 national census should attempt to accurately and honestly determine the citizenship status of everyone living here. This constitutional requirement has been met with howls of indignation from Democrats across this nation (“Decision to restore citizenship question to census draws protest,” March 28).
The main objection by Democrats to this constitutional duty is that it may reduce the number of Democratic voters. This partisan concern is not the about national happiness, but about the narrow interest of Democratic votes.
The actual enumeration of the people cannot be held hostage to the electoral advantage of any political party.
Paul M. Craig
Northampton