Conversation Of The Week XIII: Politics — The Potential Influence Of The Changing Face Of America

February 8, 2011
Written by Peter W. Brusoe - American University in
National Collegiate Dialogue
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First African-American Secretary of State, Collin Powell.

By 2050, America will be a nation of minorities. What are the implications?


In 1916, the people of Montana elected Jeanette Rankin to serve in the United States House. Ninety years later, we finally had our first female Speaker of the House. Two Hundred Fourteen years after the signing of the constitution, Sen. Joe Lieberman was nominated as the Democratic Candidate for Vice President. He was the first Jewish American to be on a national ticket. Ten years later, Eric Cantor became our first Jewish House Leader. In a span of less than eight years, we had our first African American Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and our first Female African Americaaltn Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. In 1981, Ronald Reagan nominated our first Female Supreme Court Justice; in 2010, Justice Kagan was the fourth woman to hold a seat on the Supreme Court.


Our country has made a number of leaps forward when it comes to the descriptive representation of our country's population. The changes in the next forty years could be outstanding to increase the descriptive representation of racial and ethnic minorities. We could have our first Latino Senate Leader; we could have our first African American Speaker of the House. We could even increase the percentage of African Americans in the United States Senate. We could have our first LGBT Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The list of possibilities is endless! However, we need to work on increasing the number of minorities who are viable candidates.


altTo ensure the possibility of the future, we must ensure the promise of today. To do this we need to increase the number of minorities in our colleges, our law schools, and in our political system. We need to examine the success of our public schools to ensure that they are producing students who are college ready. We must increase funding for scholarships and ensure that universities are providing resources to ensure the success of all students.


The bigger question for all of us as University staff, faculty, and administrators is "What can we do to bring success to everyone?"



 

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Comments

The Potential Influence of the Changing Face of America

Submitted by SBUAMICO-8 on

I feel like there would be no real implications of a nation of minorities. People should be treated equal and there race shouldn't matter. Some changes that would occur would be that there would be more minorities in government. But I feel that a minority can do just as good of a job as a white person. It doesn't matter there race, they can are still smart and can do a good job. Just take Barack Obama. Another change that would occur would be that there would be more minorities in the work place. Working with minorities would be the same as working with whites. Nothing would really change because of it.

America has always been a

Submitted by STETU-5 on

America has always been a diverse nation, however in the Government you don't tend to see that diversity. I feel in the time we live in now has shown us how far America has come as a country and society. I feel race doesn't really matter as much as it did back then. Even so, in order for us as a nation to become even greater we must have better education and educators. We must also help keep kids in college and try to eliminate the variable of the cost of schooling so students don't have to worry about debt while getting a quality education. I dont't think we should worry about "Changing the Face of America" so to speak but rather fix it by helping everyone achieve the best and success like the article mentioned. We came a long way as a nation, but we still got a long way to go.

$$$

Submitted by STETU-9 on

I think you bring up a good point about the cost of schooling and debt with regards to quality education. At a primary level, the quality of public education is decreasing, even though it is "free" for children whose parents pay taxes. Looking at the price of college and how expensive higher education has become, it is no wonder that so few are able to attend. College is a service that many families can no longer afford, and it is counterproductive for a recent graduate to complete their schooling and have to enter the work-force with piles of debt. Something needs to be done about the cost of universities because I think that while there are many opportunities for scholarships and loans, the cost is a deterrant for many teenagers whose families cannot afford to pay. This country is missing out on a lot of potential future world leaders because of the cost of college: why shouldn't every student have the chance to educate themselves?

A Melting Pot?

Submitted by SBUAMICO-17 on

I have often wondered about this question, and if anything good would come from it. Perhaps one could hope that some prejudicial people would think a little bit more before simply stating something that is purely based upon opinion. Maybe seeing, or exposing the majority to more minorities would help to break down many of those racial and stereotypical barriers that people who fear the unknown unknowingly, or by choice put up. More exposure to people who are differently can often cause a bit of a reality check to happen inside people's minds. Hoping that this does happen would mean that the over all comfort of people would be at a much higher level. This could also allow for people to be possibly, maybe, sort of a little more accepting of the simple differences that make the world go round.

I completely agree that we

Submitted by STETU-9 on

I completely agree that we need to see a greater number of minorities pursuing higher education in colleges and law schools, and ultimately within the political systems. The only way that people will be able to accept differences in others is if there is more diverse representation in positions of power and influence. Young African American children in particular need to have more role models and need to see that a political career can be achieved despite the color of one's skin or their gender. In order to bring success to everyone, we need to eliminate glass ceilings and racial prejudices that prevent diversity in our country's political positions and in high power positions in large companies. I am hopeful that the next few decades will see more appreciation for diversity, because this country is one with so many different people that accurate representaion is a necessity. It would be wrong to ignore the great strides that we have made as a nation thus far, but a lot more is needed in order to ensure equal education and opportunity for minorities in America.

The Changing Face of America

Submitted by ACU-18 on

In my opinion, I think it is incredibly important that more minorities be given the chance to achieve a higher education. It is not fair for them to be denied the opportunity to better themselves and aspire to more due to racial prejudice and unfortunate circumstances. I agree with the article when it states that the changes need to start occurring in the public schools. In order to gain more minority representation at the top, then the most important place to start is at the bottom, with the young children. It is crucial that these minority children know from a young age that they can achieve anything they want to, regardless of their race. I feel that there should be some type of programs incorporated into the at-risk elementary schools that would help inspire these children and show them that they can go to college if they choose to. Unfortunately, some of these minority children do not believe that they can even go to college, which causes them to feel discouraged and stop caring in general. If children start seeing people of their specific race in prestigious positions, then they will be more likely to believe that they too can succeed. This will allow minority children to view these leaders as role models and a source of inspiration. I believe that once there are more minorities in the political system, then people will be able to realize that prejudice is wrong and unnecessary. Sadly, there are many people who do not want minorities to be in positions of power, simply because of ignorant thinking. However, I feel that if these people were exposed more to the minorities that they dislike, then they would realize the error of their thinking. Therefore, it is imperative that minorities be given the opportunity to pursue the goals they choose. I feel that this country has begun to take very positive steps in having a greater number of minorities in public positions, but more progress needs to be made.

Changing Face

Submitted by SBUAMICO-12 on

The changing face in America is a great thing and it was bound to happen. When America was first being created many people from around the world wanted to come to America to live the "American Dream". There has been many things that America has done to try and keep America "White" in history but now with the rising minorities we should embrace it and learn each others cultures instead of listening to the different stereotypes among different people. Maybe we can but many brains together and try and fix our world with all this violence and environmental problems we have today.

The Changing Face of America

Submitted by ACU-14 on

The changing face of America has been around since its history has been recorded. The implications of a nation of minorities don't have to be bad. I believe that a nation of minorities would be just as fair and effective as any other group of people. No matter the racial majority or minority, the people still have the last say; the people of America have a vote in every election. I trust that the majority of Americans will make a good, fair decision on who runs our country, whether the person that is elected be black, white, Hispanic, or any other race. The unique thing about America is that we have a variety of people, races, and religions that make up the population. We must embrace our cultural variety and use it in a positive way. Barack Obama has broken a huge barrier for minorities running for a position of power in our country, and hopefully this trend continues into the future.

New face

Submitted by ACU-11 on

I believe that America is changing and becoming more diverse with minorities coming up. The minority groups are growing in number so it is very important that we see minority faces as leaders. America is rapidly changing. America has to have a diverse culture running this country. I do think Obama has broken a barrier becoming first African American president. Hispanics are a raising force group increasing in numbers rapidly. Whites have been the dominate race for years so we have to get used changes in America. This country needs to quit looking at race. It shouldn’t matter who runs in leader position. We should focus on schools making sure all groups get educated and know how to work together. Yes it will create some interesting challenges with people. Through the census most Hispanic claims to be white anyways. The more of mix of cultures and ethnic backgrounds will help keep us diverse and everyone can relate. It is going to happen with minorities being in position of power. Why spend time fighting against it. I think with more minorities in the public eyes it will help lead other youth minorities to want to get educated. In history past minorities didn’t have that opportunity. Now America is changing and it’s not about minorities being new face, but America a better place to live.

It is truely a good thing

Submitted by SBUAMICO-6 on

It is truely a good thing that there is a growing number of opportunities for minorities in our political system. On the other hand, I somewhat take offense to some of the things that are said in this article. The way that the last paragraph is worded makes me feel like the author wants to give more opportunities to minorities in the educational system and in doing so give less opportunities to whites. Dont get me wrong. Some day we will have a black speaker of the house and minorities in all places of government. But it should be because of the fact that he or she is the best qualified candidate. To say that more minorities in government possitions is something to aim for is in itself another form of discrimination. In my opinion discrimination can only be abolished if we stop making such a big deal of it. If we can begin to see eachother as fellow people instead of white/black man/woman, race will cease to exist.