White America

Is old and on the way out, soon to be replaced by a younger and somewhat less white version of itself. This isn't new or surprising information, but it is very relevant to our great nation's off-white future.

America - in this amateur historian's opinion - has never been a "white country." But even ifAmerica was, at its founding, a white nation, it certainly isn't now, it hasn't been in quite a while and it's only getting less and less white as the days go by.

So what? Why is this important? Who besides the Tea Party and the Islamophobes cares about how light or dark America is? We all should because if America is to remain the world's economic and moral leader, we can't let our policies and laws be dictated by fear.

Consider for example that America has always been a beacon of opportunity and freedom. The world's oppressed have looked to us when desperate; the world's intellects have looked to us when curious; the world's entrepreneurial have looked to us when feeling entrepreneurial. This is America, land of the free, home of the brave, country of the world's best and brightest. Our country has never (permanently) closed its doors, its heart or its mind to others.

And we won't now, but today's challenges are new. The recession, 9/11 and the never-ending spew of information brought to us by the internet have made many people retreat further into a xenophobic shell. Policy is affected, and America's greatest strength - our ability to attract and absorb the world's best and brightest - is turned into a weapon against us.

Arizona's law, while it will probably have a minimal impact, sends the message that America's doors are closed and we blame others, non-white others, for our problems. As the nation grows more and more diverse, we must live and work together to exploit everyone's strengths. The rhetoric of hatred meanwhile, will isolate and polarize an already dysfunctional government, leading to blocs of regional or other special interest groups competing with one another rather than focusing on the good of the country.

If you don't think this has already started to happen, you need only look again at Arizona's outdated fear-fueled immigration law, or the opposition to the not-mosque at almost-Ground Zero. We push each other away. White America is old, slightly darker America is young. Slightly darker America has the world and the future ahead of it. If only we could learn to embrace the similarities rather than fear the differences.

It's time to stop wishing for this and start doing it. White America, if there ever was such a thing, is gone. Burning Qu'rans, spreading lies about mosques and shipping people out in cuffs is not going to make America better. It's going to make America more polarized. And we can't afford that, but even more importantly, we can't send the message that America doesn't want you because of your skin color, or your god, or your beliefs. America does want you, because no matter where you come from, you've helped build the greatest country in the world. And if we want to keep building, we're going to need your help. So come on white people, brown people, purple people and green. Come on Christians, Muslims, Atheists and Hindus. Keep coming. This is America, there's room for you. You want the same things I do, a good job, a good life, and a safe and prosperous country. Let's build it.