Helluva party wasn't it. You know, the one that you're just now recovering from this morning, with the help of a few more aspirins and glasses of water. The one that had you up all night Tuesday with champagne flowing through your veins, screaming at the top of your lungs, "Whooo yeah! 300 million!"
Don't remember that one? Yeah, me neither.
That's because although Tuesday morning's announcement by the Census Bureau that the U.S. population had been estimated to reach 300 million, most ushered a few more late night stiff drinks rather than all night parties — especially the boys in Washington.
And there is certainly one very good reason that Tuesday's milestone brought about little more than some end-of-the-day mumblings from President Bush: This milestone of 300 million scares the shit out of him, and not just because he's afraid he can't count that high. Instead, this milestone represents a very real change in the face of America and the direction it is heading — a change that this president and this Congress have not yet addressed, nor embraced.
The most recent estimates put the U.S. population at about 67 percent white, 13 percent black, 5 percent Asian and 15 percent Hispanic — up from 9 percent in 1990. The most obvious reason for this increase is the nearly 1 million immigrants that enter the country every year, mostly from Mexico, and mostly illegal. However, while the immigration debate seemed to surface and then rapidly subside last spring, the issues it engendered are certainly not going away any time soon, no matter how frightened Washington is to address them.
As a sign of how much times have changed, look at 1967, when the population hit 200 million, and it was estimated that the 200 millionth baby would be a white son or daughter, most likely from suburban New York or Los Angeles. Today on the other hand, almost all demographers, including William Frey from University of Michigan, believe that the 300 millionth baby was "a Mexican Latino in Los Angeles County, with parents who speak Spanish and with siblings who are bilingual."
But with a Senate that is only 1 percent black, 3 percent Hispanic and 0 percent effective, nothing has been done to address the change. We have yet to see comprehensive immigration reform manifest itself in the House or the Senate, and the most progress that has been made is a proposed 700-mile fence being built along our 2,000-mile border with Mexico. Go figure.
In short, the new American melting pot is changing its ingredients, and at the same time, going unnoticed by the people who need to address it most.
Not only has Washington failed to progress with our rapidly changing population, it has taken quite a few measures to regress the advances of liberty and equality that are the hallmarks of this country. A proposed ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions failed to pass in both houses this summer, yet has found a way to trickle down to the local level, coming up on ballots in eight different states for this fall's elections, including Wisconsin. At a desk with a banner hanging from it that audaciously read "Protecting America," the president signed a bill into law Tuesday that drastically impedes the human rights of anyone being held as a suspected terrorist, calling it "a way to deliver justice." And, oh yeah, just yesterday, like every day for the past six years, the president didn't do a damn thing to address the undeniable environmental concerns that continue to rise with our population.
As populations in other industrialized nations, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan either decline or stabilize in population growth, it is time that we recognize the difference in our situation here at home. The 300 millionth baby, born sometime Tuesday morning, represents a very real milestone for the American people. It is a milestone of change. With it, there must be an equally strong yearning for change in our government, to embrace, address and progress with the new face of America as we move into a critical era in our nation's history.
Do your part. Vote for change on Nov. 7 and then buy yourself the finest bottle of bubbly in town for an early celebration of 400 million.
Andy Granias ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science and international studies.