Census, can you sense my aggrivation?

I am a patriot. I love this country and I felt a patriotic thrill when I filled out my Census the day I got it and sent it right back in. I answered all the questions even though my sweet hubby gently ridiculed me for being so forthcoming with our government, I thought he was just being paranoid. What harm can come from them knowing that we're all white and we don't have much money? Well, apparently some of my answers baffled them because I got a message from them while we were out yesterday that they needed me to call and answer some questions about the form I sent in. I couldn't understand what they could have a problem with. Perhaps they couldn't grasp the reality of a family with two parents of opposite gender who are married where all the children share the same name as both parents?? Although. . . our first three children were born kind of rapid fire and it might have raised a few flags and eyebrows, perhaps they had questions about that. So I decided to call them back much to the chagrin of my "paranoid" sweetheart. I dutifully dialed the number and was quickly speaking to a nice young man who then proceeded to administer the ENTIRE questionnaire all over again. I found myself trying to be nice to the harried governmental worker and answer his questions despite my own instincts to just hang up the phone and Ryan's insistence that I do just that. I asked him shortly into our interview why he didn't simply read the answers I'd given on the survey, they were to be exactly the same as I would tell him over the phone and it would perhaps save us both time and he could go on to the next poor sap on his list but he insisted that he wouldn't call unless he had valid questions about the survey. He then drilled me about each of our children, had any of them been in staying with a relative during this and this time? A friend? In jail? In a shelter? In a tree? In the yard for a long time? It went on and on. My answers were clear, no, no, no, no. . . I said to him. "We are a family. We live together. Nobody else lives here. Nobody lived anywhere else." And still he plowed on and on. I said to him again, "Look at what I mailed to you. You have all the answers, nothing will have changed. Just because I filled it out April 1st doesn't mean I was trying to trick you!" During this whole exchange Ryan is lingering near me, urging me to end the conversation and I'm feeling more and more like I really should. Then the fellow gets to the race part and I again tell him that we are what I said we are but he continues bravely onward slightly apologetic. I finally just told him that I answered the questions on the form, that the answers I gave are correct and that he should refer to said answers and that I had not really enjoyed our conversation but that I hoped he had better luck grilling other citizens and good day. I hung up the phone.

I felt guilty. I love our country. I have ancestors that fought in the Revolutionary War for heavens sake! I am proud of my heritage and my citizenship but it is getting harder and harder to be proud of this country and that is sad.