What we’ve been witnessing at the General Assembly in Raleigh the past few months is the futile attempt by fearful, old, white men to hang on to the power and control to which they assume they’re entitled. These extremists imagine that if they can push women, gays, blacks and Latinos back to the status these groups held prior to the mid-20th century, they can hang on to their perch at the top of the pecking order.
Now don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against old white men. In fact, I am one. But I do take issue with any group, regardless of skin color, sex or age, that abuses its power in a deceitful and un-American attempt to keep others from experiencing the fruits of liberty—equal rights for all, the unfettered opportunity to vote, a quality education for all our children, clean air and water for every citizen . . . I could go on.
If you look at the data, it’s clear that the demographic shift currently taking place in our nation will be the death knell of this Caucasian paternalism. The Pew Research Center projects that non-Hispanic whites will make up only 47 percent of the U.S. population by 2050, while the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that this change will take place in 2042. Already racial or ethnic minorities make up nearly 30 percent of registered voters in North Carolina, and this trend is expected to continue. (more…)
