Proposition 187 "is an outrage. It is unconstitutional. It
is nativist. It is racist"--Al Hunt, Capital Gang, CNN.
That outburst by my columust
colleague, about California's Prop
187--which would cut off social
welfare benefits to illegal aliens -- suggests that this savage quarrel is
about more than just money.
Indeed, the roots of this dispute
over Prop.187 are grounded in the
warring ideas that we Americans
hold about the deepest, most divisive issues of our
time: ethnicity, nation, culture.
What do we want the America of the years 2000,2020 and
2050 to be like? Do we have the right to shape the character of
the country our grandchildren will
live in? Or is that to be decided by
whoever, outside America, decides to come here?
By 2050, we are instructed by the
chancellor of the University of Caifornia at Berkeley, Chang Lin-Tin,
"the majority of Americans will trace their roots to Latin America,
Africa. Asia, the Middle East and
Pacific Islands."
Now, any man or woman, of any
nation or ancestory can come here
--and become a good American.
We know that from our history. But
by my arithmetic, the chancellor is
saying Hispanics, Asians and
Afncans will increase their present number of 65 million by at
least 100 million in 60 years, a population growth larger than all of
Mexico today.
What will that mean for America? Well, South Texas and Southern
California will be almost exclusively Hispanic. Each will have tens of
millions of people whose linguistic,
historic and cultural roots are in Mexico. Like Eastern Ukraine,
where 10 million Russian-speaking "Ukrainians" now look impatiently to Moscow, not Kiev, as their cultural capital, America could see, in
a decade, demands for Quebeclike status for Southern California.
Already there is a rumbling among
militants for outright seccession. A
sea of Mexican flags was prominent in that LA. rally against Prop.
187, and Mexican officials are openIy urging their kinsmen in California to vote it down.
If no cutoff is imposed on social
benefits for those who breach our
borders, and break our laws, the
message will go out to a desperate
world: America is wide open. All
you need do is get there, and get in.
Consequences will ensue.
Crowding together immigrant and
minority populations in our major
cities must bring greater conflict.
We saw that in the 1992 L.A. riot.
Blacks and Hispanics have lately
collided in D.C.'s Adams-Morgan
neighborhood, supposedly the most
tolerant and progressive section of
Washington. The issue: bilingual
education. Unlike 20 years ago,ethnic conflict is today on almost every front page
Before Mr. Chang's vision is realized, the United States will have at least two official languages. Todays steady outmigration of "Anglos" or "Euro-Americans," as whites are now called, from Southern florida and Southern California, will continue.
The 50 states will need constant redrawing of political lines to
ensure proportional representation. Already we have created the
first "apartheid districts" in America's South.
Ethlic militancy and solidarity
are on the rise in the United
States; the old institutions of
assimilation are not doing their
work as they once did; the Melting
Pot is in need of repair. On campuses we hear demands for separate dorms, eating rooms, clubs,etc, by black, white, Hispanic and
Asian students. If this is where the
campus is headed, where are our
cities going?
If America is to survive as "one
nation, one people" we need to call
a "time-out" on immigration, to
assimilate the tens of millions who
have lately arrived. We need to get
to know one another, to live together, to learn together America's language, history, culture and traditions of tolerance, to become a new
national family, before we add a
hundred million more. And we
need soon to bring down the curtain
on this idea of hyphenated-Americanism.
If we lack the course to make
the decisions--as to what our
country will look like in 2050 -- others wiIl make those decisions for us,
not all of whom share our love of the
America that seems to be fading away.
