My Life in 2042
In 2042 I will be 96 years old. New Year’s Day will be on a Wednesday and
Easter Sunday will fall on April 6th. Fossil fuels will be at the beginning of
their end. All cars will be
self-driving. We will eat less
meat. Currency will become obsolete as
electronic movement of money will be automatically added to blockchains of
financial interactions.
But there
will be one more change that will be subtle, slow, but increasingly obvious to
all of us. By 2042, white people will
become the minority population in the United States. Thanks to an immigration rate of 2 million
people per year, I will no longer enter a restaurant and see a sea of faces
that look just like mine. Colors of
clothes and makeup will lend themselves to the bold colors that go well with
warm skin tones instead of the pastels and neutrals that suit cool Nordic
coloring. My grandchildren will be in
school, at work and choosing life partners from a population that does not look
like me.
Our grocery stores
will be more ethnically diverse. Which
means they will reflect the fish, grain and vegetable-based diets of many of
the countries from whom our immigrant population comes. English will remain the common language because
it is the language of international commerce.
Capitalism will (and must) survive because it is the reason this country
is a destination of choice for so many people, but layers of socialism will
take over as we move higher up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs toward our “better
angels” of human caring.
I do not fear
this change. Indeed, I am eager to be
part of it. Why not? Life is an evolution, a constant movement
toward adaptations that enhance biological success. What is more, I live in Texas, a state that
could provide a good example for the rest of the country. There are four states in the US that have
minorities as their demographic majority: California, Hawaii, New Mexico and
Texas. According to Forbes Magazine and
the Brookings Institute, the only one of these four “future America’s” in which
all the largest racial and ethnic groups are doing better than the national
average is Texas. Even after adjusting
for cost of living, Texas minorities do better than the national average while
California still ranks highest in poverty measures of every group.
The Texas
model of governance, which includes low taxes, less regulation and lawsuit
reform, seem to be producing more consistent results than the big government
model epitomized by California. Yet I think
there is another factor at work here—one that is not quantifiable. Our Hispanic communities in Texas know,
embrace and honor their history as Americans.
While post-Civil War Texas (falling victim to the Southern doctrines of
many of its white immigrants) chose to marginalize, deny and then forget the
role of Texas’ Mexican heritage, Texans of Hispanic ancestry know who they
are. They know what they have done.
I recently had a conversation
with a gentleman who referenced (with justifiable pride) the generations of his
family who had lived in this area under six flags. There is a strong pride in ownership that
goes with that history: a history of leadership, an anchor of tradition and a
love for the land.
So, on my 96th
birthday, when my Minnesota/Norwegian/Lutheran heritage is no longer a national
majority, I will sleep well. My country
will be in good hands. I just hope our
new majority will treat me better than we have treated them. But I believe they will, because I have seen
the graciousness of Texans whose ancestry is different than mine.
Look to the future and keep the faith.
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