[APRIL 4, 2000]  If death and taxes are the certainties of life, then it follows that the government wants to keep tabs on those of us who are still living. Government counting and accounting have been evident lately, with the spring election, U.S. Census 2000 and the approaching income tax deadline.

There’s an anonymous extension of the adage about death and taxes that says, "…but death isn’t annual." The yearly income tax filing has become a major chore for some. Others breeze through the job in no time and brag about their quick refunds. Still others make a living by doing part of the work for the rest of us. Whatever your situation, filing is a civic responsibility.

The government also sent us some other forms to fill out recently. Census forms are more of a novelty than tax forms for most of us, as the census is scheduled only once every 10 years.

They made quite a big deal of it, I thought, with a preliminary mailing to announce that the form would soon arrive; then the form itself, followed up with a postcard. I set the first mailing aside to open later. I suppose they expected things like that to happen and took preventative measures with the extra reminders.

When someone mentioned the census form, I felt apprehensive that I might have missed a deadline. I hunted up the unopened mailing, opened it and discovered there was nothing inside that I had to do anything about. I did wonder why they enclosed an envelope. I made sure to save it, thinking I might have to use it to send in the actual census form later. I thought maybe it was a slight test from the government to see if I could keep track of the envelope until their questionnaire arrived. I shouldn’t have been concerned. The form showed up a week later, as promised, in a larger envelope with a letter and another envelope enclosed.

I assumed the questions would be easier to answer than the list of arithmetic fill-in-the-blank items on the tax forms, but I didn’t expect to answer eight queries and be done. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d had to look up a figure somewhere in my records, but I didn’t. Completing the census form was a non-event in my household.

Next came voting day, with another chance for officials to do some counting. I was spared most of the number work, except in cases where I had to count to be sure I didn’t vote for more candidates than the seats available.

Voting does fall in a somewhat different category from income tax filing and census form submissions, which are required by law. Our laws don’t prescribe penalties for not voting, though negative consequences may turn up later in everyday life. Yes, voting is a civic responsibility, but in particular it’s a privilege. Not every adult in every country in every era has had that privilege. Observers today continue working to establish fair election procedures and to monitor elections in developing democracies.

Every once in a while I see lists of momentous historical decisions that have hinged on one vote. Perhaps you’ve read lists like that too. Instead, I’ll share with you a six-line selection called "Tremendous Trifles."

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;

For want of the shoe, the horse was lost;

For want of the horse, the rider was lost;

For want of the rider, the battle was lost;

For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost;

And all from the want of a horseshoe nail.

If anyone asks whether you voted in the recent primary, filled out your census questionnaire and completed your income tax returns, perhaps you can answer, "yes, yes and yes." If so, that’s good.

If not, you can still take care of civic responsibilities and let the government do its counting. The due date for income tax filing is April 17 this year. If the extra day in February wasn’t enough for you, you still have a couple more days than usual to finish. The census people asked to have your census form by April 1, but they say that if your completed questionnaire hasn’t reached them by April 12, a census representative may visit you to get the necessary information. So it’s not too late yet for those forms, and while the spring election is past, there will be another election in the fall. You still have a chance to be counted.

[Mary Krallmann]