Tag: demographic

Two competing narratives dominate our debate about the ongoing ethnic and demographic transformation of America. The first holds that non-European immigrants O.K., let's be honest, Mexicans will rip apart the nation's social fabric. The second has it that the diversity of younger generations of Americans will inevitably lead to a more integrated, postracial era.

But both of these narratives are off the mark. With some minor differences, today's immigrants are assimilating into U.S. society in ways not terribly unlike those of millions before them. At the same time, it's likely that decades from now, Americans will still invest a lot of meaning in group distinctions.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1971133_1971110_1971119,00.html#ixzz0i5L0uB6Q