The bright side/ rebuttal

Submitted by PezDispenser (Israel), Oct 4, 2015 at 03:01

1. Influenced by David P. Goldman on this issue, I believe that without immigration, the US would arguably be in the same demographic decline as Western Europe.

2. Luckily, the immigrants are mostly traditional Catholic hispanics and industrious (East?) Asians rather than migrants from the middle east.

3. Never underestimate the power of the American assimilationist machine, even in a mulicultral environment. In a tragic example, the US Jewish community has been in decline and might fade away into obscurity with the exception of the rapidly growing orthodox segment. Even larger minorities, such as Hispanics, are probably not immune to this dynamic.

4. Don't underestimate the appeal of the evangelical movement. I hear that they've attracted a lot of hispanics.

5. Look at politicians such as Rubio and Cruz - both of them from Cuban/hispanic backgrounds. There's no reason that upwardly mobile hispanics and asians won't become conservatives.

6. The "classic American culture" was indeed based on European immigration, but remember that the 17th and 18th century was an era with almost no barriers to immigration.

7. Never forget that the immigration policy before Hart Cellar was cruel and discriminated against productive immigrants only due to their ethnicity. In the most infamous example, the Jews of Europe were faced with closed door to the US in their time of dire need.

8. Take a day trip to a science and engineering campus at one of the nation's biggest state universities. I bet you will not find many "classic Americans" there - the white kids are busy preparing for law school by taking the liberal arts classes. Ironically, it might be the children of immigrants who are going to keep this country afloat with hard and smart work.

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