Population shift is on the brink in U.S.

The racial make-up of the United States is changing. That much comes as no surprise. But what is alarming - my choice of words - is that the pace of that racial shift is happening much faster than any expert had predicted. In numbers out this week, in just 40 short years, there will be 133 million Hispanics in the United States. That will represent one-third of the total population.

I have no problem with the Hispanic population except the issue of assimilation. The Hispanic population should be welcomed within our borders if they learn to speak English, obey the laws of this land and become Americans of Hispanic origin. But increasingly that is not the case. And what lies ahead is a bilingual nation with separate cultures. To my way of thinking, that does not bode well for this country.

If you project these population shifting numbers ahead, in just 80 short years - the heydays of my great-grandchildren hopefully - the United States of America will be home to more of Hispanic origin than whites. Unfortunately history is not kind to those countries who try to meld sharply contrasting cultures. And that is our future.

Conservatives argue that our immigration policies are crumbling and that Mexico specifically is pouring their poor into our country where health care, education, housing, etc. are guaranteed. But no one on the national stage seems concerned. I suspect that is a result of an exploding voting bloc of Hispanic voters. But all that means is that many politicians are selling their souls today for votes while selling our children's future.

Unfortunately, I don't think anyone cares. I think the problem is so massive that politicians simply don't care. This country currently plays host to 47 million Hispanics. We'll welcome 133 million in just 40 years. Is anyone listening?

Tragically those among us who point a finger at the immigration mess are often branded with ugly names. I couldn't care less. No one else is willing to look just a few short years into the future and recognize what is down the road.

The older generation universally says, "Thank God I won't be around for the changes that are coming." I fully understand that sentiment and I share those thoughts. But our children and their children will be around. We're not talking centuries down the road. We're measuring these changes in years - decades at most.

It's foolish to think that erecting a fence along the Mexican border will stem the tide of immigration. The only thing that will make that change is for this nation to get tough with the Mexican government and demand they join the effort from their side of the border. That has yet to happen. We need to withhold any funds from flowing into Mexico until they address the northern migration and make changes in their country to diminish this flow of immigrants.

You don't think we're facing something unprecedented? Read what the experts have to say:

"No other country has experienced such rapid racial and ethnic change." - Population Reference Bureau;

"What's happening now in terms of increasing diversity probably is unprecedented." - Census Bureau Demographer;

"Within the conventional definition of race, this is a big change." - Census Bureau Projection Branch.

If a politician is unwilling to take a tough stand on immigration, I am unwilling to give them my vote. It may not be enough but it's all that I have.