The Changing Demographic

Partly because of rising immigration, births to non-white parents will exceed those of white parents for the first time in 2010. Many point to this as proof that American conservativism in general and the Republican Party in particular will be echoes of the past.

Maybe so. But remember the tens of millions of immigrants that came to these shores between 1880 and 1920. On a percentage basis these immigrants represented a larger proportion of population growth than what we see today, and it drastically changed the demographic from that of earlier generations. Many of those immigrant groups brought in ideas and cultures (Socialism, Marxism from Eastern Europe, Mafia types from Southern Europe) that were contrary to the traditional culture. Many were Roman Catholic and Jewish, also contrary to the prevailing culture. They tended to organize themselves around political movements that even today many of us find out of the mainstream.

But subsequent generations of those immigrants did not necessarily march in lockstep with Mom & Dad. The prevailing culture was confident enough in the rightness of the American world view that these children and grandchildren of immigrants eventually assimilated into the larger culture. Those foreign ideas took a toll to be sure. The timeline of the rise of the original Progressive movement and its socialist cousins correspond with that 40-year period of immigration. While one might argue we’re still paying for it today, it does speak well of the power of the founding ideals that so many of us who are descendants of that wave of immigration have embraced the American culture in all its richness.

The problem as I see it is not the color of new babies. One problem is the high illegitimacy rate across all demographics. That situation invites government meddling and (call it what it is) the effective enslavement of those caught in a cycle of poverty.

Another problem would be the tacit encouragement not to assimilate. The left wants to divide us into politically convenient groups because it is easier to control voting blocks than independent thinkers. The right doesn't know how to express its ideals outside of its immediate neighborhood.

And then there is prevailing culture, which is not confident in its own history and institutions. The sad loss of the idea that the USA has a unique place in the world causes the culture to doubt itself. We’re losing our heritage and birthright because too many in this country no longer believe it is worth saving and that going back to Egypt for our ideals and guidance might not be a bad thing.

If I were to lose my job (not on the horizon, as far as I know, but worth contemplating nevertheless) and had all kinds of free time on my hands, what would I do? I think I know. I think I would volunteer to teach English as a second language. Learning English is irreplaceable if these people are to become part of the mainstream of American life. We can curse the darkness here, but who besides us could do a better job of teaching the recently arrived a skill that my own grandparents never mastered? And who better than we to model the ideals of the founders?