Magyar News, 1999. szeptember-2000. augusztus (10. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2000-05-01 / 9. szám
It was a bit confusing to read the Census Form we received in the mail. As I wrote in my previous article on this subject, I was looking for the possibility to write in the word: “Hungarian.” It turned out that the short form was sent to me and that didn’t have a place to do so. I know many people who just wrote their ethnicity in an open line, hoping that somewhere it would get counted. In the form questions were asked about American Indians, Eskimos, and many about Hispanics, these in numerous details. We Hungarians were under the general heading of “white”. In the long form there was a possibility to make note of one’s ethnicity but only one out of six households received the long form. The way this works is that they multiply the information from the long form by six. This number will be then the final count. With all fairness we conducted a survey at some of the Hungarian churches. It turned out that everything was just about right. Another survey showed a different picture. In an apartment building with 200 households there are two Hungarians. Only one received the long form, but according to the calculation, that one form indicated six Hungarian households. This is where the confusion started. How do they choose the households to fill out the long form? The statistical possibilities, probabilities, and maybes are not quite accurate. What we figured about the surveys at the churches, had people, who more or less live in areas where the Hungarian population is still dominant. What happens in areas where there is no dominant ethnic group? Are we going to be lucky that some Hungarians will receive the long form at all, or will we be so unlucky that all Hungarians are missed? I am sure that the long form could be better organized to accommodate the important questions. The savings on this and on the letter that was sent to announce the coming of the form, also the card that followed letting you know that “You got mail” might have helped balancing the finances of an accurate set of questions. A form, that makes it possible for the person filling it out, to find personal interest in it might trigger a better response. Let us be honest, as the numbers speak, it is a great accomplishment if half of the households respond at all to the census. So where is the other half? Good question. We could make an intelligent guess. So much for accuracy. I understand that the ethnic groups singled out and mentioned in both forms need special care. Their numbers have to be cleared up. But I don’t think that it should happen with the exclusion of other ethnic groups. Somehow I get a bad feeling that reminds me of the melting-pot. I am not an admirer of this pot concept. In my opinion the baby went out with die water. What I agree to is that every person should have equal rights and all the benefits of democracy. Somehow this is still on the back-burner. What I don’t agree with is the melting. If one melts down a beautiful statuette made of gold then the result will be a hunk of metal without the human creation. What happens is that all the precious human culture, traditions that were brought to this country were put into the melting-pot with the people - and melted dowa The work force was skimmed off and the rest went to die dump. Lost in the process were the most valuable treasures that nations developed probably during thousands of years. As a result the ethnic establishments started dwindling, slowly disappearing, coming to a point where it doesn’t matter if they are counted or not. Maybe those who are counting don’t give a hoot. It makes their job easier if everybody is “American.” Where would this country be if all those worthy cultures that were brought here would have had the way to add to the greatness of this country, instead of ending in the dump? We see big accomplishments by individuals, but the ethnic groups had faded away. No wonder that I don’t like the melting-pot, nor anything that reminds me of it. Well, not everything went into the pot. If we look around there are cultures today, that were looked down upon, but now are constantly gaining strength. These are from ethnic groups that in many ways were neglected, left on their own, and mostly lived among their owa They built up new directions, new traditions and entered the cultural field of the United States when that was hanging up the vacant sign. The census should have more to offer than just making a headcount. Without accurate facts I consider this census a guessing game trying to spend the taxpayers money. The CIA or FBI might do a better job. They are very good at it, maybe they can get some reading from a satalite. Since there is no new census every day one would think that the data after the past census could be a year old, or even ten years old. Not so. You could open the report on the population of the U.S. A. and every day you find the number changing. If there is a child bom then next day he is already counted. It looks like somebody is doing the head-count and it isn’t the census. I talked to people, Hungarians, who were very upset. Rightfully they should be. They feel that it is a personal offense that they cannot identify themselves. Would it be important? Sure! How does a politician measure his constituents? When it happens that the Hungarian population has a say or a need who’s going to consider them when in the census they are only listed as “white”? If for any reason our parents, brothers, or relatives in Hungary are hit by a global tragedy would they need help? What help could our tax dollars give them? Just one sample. In 1992 the 17 miles of the Alamosa river in the U.S. suffered a cyanide poisoning. The cost to take care of it was $170 million. The Tisza, many times 17 miles, received our generous help of $25,000. Those in charge hadn’t noticed the amount of tax money that came in from American Hungarians? Any wealthier individual could easily deduct this amount from his income tax. It’s the price of a better car. On the other hand look at some people from Hungary who make contributions. Deák, George Soros, it would be a very long list of the money they gave to America, Steven Ferenc Udvar-házy made a $61 million donation to the Smithsonian, Leslie Gonda $45 million to the Mayo Clinic, and the list could go on and oa Many question the bilingual education. Do they want to help these immigrants to function in an English speaking environment, or is this done to keep them out. Our Hungarian immigrants took night courses to learn English but their children without the parents help spoke English because they learned it in school. Some of these first generation children became English teachers. It wasn’t bilingual, it was English, and it worked. How about that? Just some thoughts about this census. Joseph F. Balogh Page 1
