A Majority Minority Nation (Linda Chavez)

A majority minority nation: that's what the U.S. Census Bureau is projecting by the year 2042, according to new figures released this week. By mid-century, according to the government's projections, Hispanics, Asians and blacks will outnumber non-Hispanic whites by about 32 million. The statistics make for interesting headlines — and, no doubt, cause heartburn in certain circles — but the fact is: they are more or less meaningless. The problem in all such predictions is that they don't take sufficient account of intermarriage and assimilation. From our founding as a nation, there have been those who worried that "foreigners" would overwhelm us and change our national character. Benjamin Franklin warned in 1751: "Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to... [read full story]