By 
“If something is constant, it is change.”
– Bryce Laws
As I have written in the past, Americans are great reactionaries. There are numerous examples to illustrate the point, including Pearl Harbor, September 11, and Hurricane Katrina, just to name a few. But in all three of these examples, the warnings were issued far in advance that they were ignored and dismissed as nothing more than the ravings of alarmists. The advice of respected futurists is rarely followed despite the facts behind it. Instead, they are considered entertaining oddities that shouldn’t be taken seriously. However, when predictions come true, it is often too late and Americans have to react and pay dearly for doing so. In other words, Americans tend to live in the moment and rarely try to anticipate future events. Yet these events, whether we anticipate them or react to them, represent the catalysts for change that affects us all.
Recently, I was asked to give a talk on “Why We Resist Change”, which was based on an article I wrote some time ago. In addition to commenting on how change affects us, they asked me what I envisioned as those events or elements that will affect change for years to come. In my opinion, there are three change agents to pay attention to:
* IMMIGRATION – We are all aware of the problems we have with illegal aliens, particularly along our border with Mexico, but I don’t think the general American population really appreciates the impact this will have on the country, either financially or culturally. If our immigration policies are not controlled, we will have to pay a considerable fee for the revision of our infrastructure. Only California is already feeling the impact on its schools, roads and medical facilities. And the Golden State is just the tip of the iceberg. Starting with the southern states, the entire country will eventually feel the rush of an immigration system that is essentially out of control. Culturally, according to the US Census Bureau, by 2010, Hispanics will be the largest minority group, easily surpassing African Americans. By 2050, Hispanics are projected to represent approximately 25% of the population. This will undoubtedly lead to an increase in Latino political influence and a decrease in other groups.
* TERRORISM – Most Americans think of terrorism as nothing more than the war in Iraq. But terrorism knows no borders and has been adopted as the military tactic of the moment in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America. Think about it; In terms of conventional warfare, there is no power on Earth that can compete with the United States. Consequently, our enemies turn to terrorism, which we are still learning to combat and which forces us to change militarily. This also means that terrorism does not depend on religious fanaticism, but on anything that opposes US policies, such as democracy, freedom, and the economy.
At the national level, September 11 was our wake-up call that made us aware of our vulnerability on our own soil. Sure, we’ve ushered in some changes through Homeland Security, but we’re still vulnerable internally, including New York and Washington, DC.
All this will affect us for many years and will cost us economically and socially. To illustrate, we are all aware of the burden of terrorism in terms of travel restrictions, but we will also see it in the revised construction and zoning requirements, changes in office security, import and export, etc. In other words, our carefree world is a thing of the past and we will be more cautious in our actions.
As a personal opinion, I believe that we will continue to be plagued by terrorism as long as the United States maintains a posture of military defense, not offensive, to combat it. I guess this is the price we pay as a superpower and for being the last reincarnation of Rome.
* TECHNOLOGY – Americans love gadgets, but I don’t think they understand the social ramifications that flow from them, especially among our young people. For example, text messaging is leading to some bad grammar and speech habits. In the classroom, it is also the predominant vehicle for cheating on exams. There is also a strong argument that social networks and videos on the Internet are generating changes in our social customs. To illustrate, these vehicles are blamed in the well-publicized incident involving the assault of a 16-year-old girl in Florida by eight other teenagers.
My theory is that as technology use accelerates, social skills decline. If this is true, we will see significant changes in the years to come in terms of attitudes, values, and how we communicate. In other words, we are seeing significant cultural changes as a result of the use of technology in the coming years, some good, some not so good.
CONCLUSION
It could be argued that the media, driven by the economy, and the climate are two other agents of change that should not be overlooked. True, but immigration, terrorism, and technology are the three most obvious agents staring us in the face, and yet we are making relatively little effort to confront them effectively. If history has taught us anything, it is that we will do too little, too late, to address these problems and we will once again face a major crisis. But then again, this is how Americans prefer to operate.
If you’d like to continue discussing this with me, feel free to email me at [email protected]
Keep faith!