Saturday, April 08, 2006

Los Estados Uniteds



We are not immune to history. The status quo is only temporary. That in mind, I propose one version of the future:
2050: New Orleans, among several southern cities such as Houston and Miami, has a majority Hispanic population.
2076: The first Hispanic-American president elected.
2100: This population continues to move northwards. Changes are seen-things along the lines of Spanish-speaking schools alongside English ones, a shift in demographics, with whites fleeing the suburbs and re-entering the city, leaving their suburban homes vacant.
2190: Whites hover precariously as the national majority.
2250: The white race has converted into a ruling elite that holds the minority, with Hispanics the majority, and African-Americans still trailing whites in numbers. One unforeseen result: whites and blacks have finally united now that they are linked by a common fear.
2350: Civil War II.
2400: The history books read like a science fiction novel, or they would to us. The United States, after the rebellion by the Hispanic-Americans who were outraged at their continued oppression, has changed rulers, the majority now the ruling class as well. The new official language is a hybrid of Spanish and English, known as Spanglish.
The country is now known as Los Estados Uniteds.
It really could happen. Do you ever think about the future?
m*

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