Get Your Fair Share

Text of actual letter sent to my home by the United States Department of Commerce.

Dear Resident,

In a few days, you will receive a 2010 Census form. When you receive your form, please fill it out and mail it in promptly.

Your response is important. Results from the 2010 Census will be used to help each community get its fair share of government funds for highways, schools, health facilities, and many other programs you and your neighbors need. Without a complete, accurate census, your community may not receive its fair share.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Groves

Is this what America has been reduced to? Get your fair share? I read this and I literally went through the initial stages of grief - shock, pain, anger, depression - in the span of about five minutes. What have we become?

If I don't get mine, does someone else get more than their fair share? Is there a chance, if I fill out my Census and someone else does not, that I could wind up with more than my fair share? And what is a "fair share" anyways? How will I know when I've received mine?

Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives...and I decline.