As we were leaving N.J. on our last visit, we stopped for gas. In N.J., you can't pump your own gas. So, ours was pumped by a man who seemed to be of Middle Eastern origin. The gas station was busy, and he was working hard.
For all I knew, he could have grown up in N.J., but looking at him I saw the classic story of the immigrant. A man comes to America, works hard so that his children could have a better life.
We've seen so many success stories of the children of immigrants. Barack Obama and Sonia Sotomayor to name two. It occurred to me that the the story of the success of the immigrant and person of color is about to accelerate.
In the not to distant future, white people will no longer be the majority in this country. In one generation, the children of the current immigrant population could be running things.
Imagine a country like the United States, founded on the principles of freedom and equality, without a white majority to dominate the political landscape. And what if this will be a time when no ethnic group has a majority.
Then, if we have not embittered the population with the legacy of hatred that has dominated our history, we might have a real chance at living with true justice and equality.
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