Diversity: The 3rd American Revolution
October 27, 2006
And it came to pass that in the morning hours of Oct. 17, the 300 millionth resident of the United States was born somewhere in this country.
Or, for that matter, she might have simply slipped across the border illegally in the Sonora desert, or just landed at JFK International with a valid tourist visa but fully intent on overstaying it.
The landmark is artificial, of course, and merely serves as an estimate of how many people are now living in these 50 states.
But the occasion carries psychological, political, even revolutionary ramifications, and deserves some recognition.
The first one is that of perspective. At 300 million, the U.S. population is less than one quarter of China’s, and about a fourth of India’s, two emerging global powers of this new century.
It will be a while still for these two giants to catch up with, much less surpass, the U.S. military, economic and sheer chutzpah capacity.
But with the technology that we all have today, advances are measured in weeks and months instead of decades.
Then there is the pace of growth in this country. We reached the 100 million mark in 1915; then 200 million in 1967, and will likely reach 400 million in 2047.
Should we celebrate or deplore this steady growth? Some would argue that more people means more resources used, more green space paved over, and more global warming.
On the other hand, as our life expectancy grows longer, we need new blood to support the aging population.
And on this account, our growth is the envy of Japan, Russia and most European countries that cannot replace their workforces. Even China, after three decades of the one-child policy, is beginning to feel the pressure of imminent labor shortage.
It is the qualitative changes in the U.S. demographics, however, that must be celebrated.
In the short history of this republic, we have adopted astoundingly racist policies: we nearly eradicated the native population; we brought to these shores millions of African slaves and then denied them even the right to citizenship or equality; we expropriated the land from Mexico; we excluded Asians from immigration; we interned Japanese Americans during World War II; we even prohibited non-whites from marrying whites.
Forty-one years ago this month, the U.S. changed its race-based immigration policy, and the results have been as evident as they are fundamental.
In metropolitan areas like the Bay Area, we can sample different foods from every corner of the world, enjoy the arts from every culture, connect with every religion on earth, and marry whomever we want to.
In 1915, the country was 88 percent white; by 1967 that ratio was down to 76.6 percent; this year it is 56.6 percent; and the Census Bureau estimates that before we reach 400 million people, the U.S. will have a majority of non-white.
I call this peaceful evolution the third American Revolution, that of diversity, after the first one for independence and the second for equality.
Comments
Got something to say?