Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHispanic Journal - A Renewed America '-',....,... ,..... - ,., ....... . . . .„...._ I in : %,.., ' —., L H L .. : 1r 1r - 1( t '.41 1114.1111.1111111. 0 11 4 1. i . i al , '. i i i i 1 • 1 1 ...,,, , i ....; : , . „ , , , , ; Volume VIII. No Sept/200 ,92,_ 2 4"*." -- - ■,_. _..,-,,,,,,.., ,-. i rr r-ri 1 _ r Mikfi 1- - 9,.. n' Apprinal:wm ., • • - ' - --'!..%-;;---' .........---: .......... - ._ . . 441111111.1111111111111106° ' a0 a • . .a r ' .^. aa , a — . - a aar a • . ,. . rrr aa , ....or iTfar 1 .i r ' . ,,.,L r ' , r ' ,„, .. : . .. , k .: 4X , :f‘: 11 S 10..,„ , ,,,,■.. r. ' ' ' ')'. ' , Why is "Closing f!!! Raps ,.., ... _.,. , . saving Hispoili6-6 iiiiiii!!id't ,.■ er, .. , . . • ' r ' : ', ,, „ '1'. - .. .1, ,, le . aoe 7 d __......- . ... ,..,..,.. ... „...,.., ,..._ , . ._. . . _.., ,---,-..--- of Suci LATINO VOTERS: , ..........." Up for • . ...._ .. _ . .. ... .... .., .. THE CANDIDATES: ELECTIONS 2002. ......-- - . ■ - ' („•_ , 1/ -.., „ ii - ... .. .... „ Rick ' T ' szony ' S anchez .0. .„..,.. ..... .... .,„ ENGAGING AMERICA Daniel R. Hernandez Associate Vice Chancellor Texas A&M University System ' - -'---, .4.''',: 11 VS - ' ''',/ ' . al z..,„ _ .,... il , ,,,,..- ' - ' ..,-- . ,... ,!Oilit r . ' t.. l el * it: ft: 1-* '-' .c.L.Itt . . 11 Sp* bY ' 3 ' '... ' ' , -....4 ......----- 4 ,...„,....--'-_,.- fr 1 , i i . ,_ — 4 , 4, , .. .4 . t , _ „.„ . s.a! tp ,,r vif - . ,t '`� " '' f i � x rj . , .., t , i - ‘,„, ! + ' �x. to k `_ v '"` a, ! °#. \ . ICI FA * . i r 0 il , ," r .lo . eft .. :416 .r, 4 ,,,„ I t _ 4.00. ' ', µ 0. ' if --i ' ' ' t 0 ^".,-, ' , , . 1 : +V titi r -• - .. © Luis NunoBriones A RENEWED AMERICA By Daniel R. Hernandez Associate Vice Chancellor, Texas A &M University System T he wisdom economy is upon us and we need 2030, Texas and U.S. culture will be a mixture of many individuals and organizations capable of making cultural and ethnic groups and the distinction of majority vs. sense of all we know but often do not understand. minority will be less important, if we act now to create To ensure a continued great democracy t hat relationships of trust. If we maintain a strong democracy includes our emerging population, we must provide our based on the concepts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of children the challenge of being in service to others, rededi- happiness for all, we will transition our state and nation into a cate our schools, houses of worship and communities to community that thrives on its wealth of diverse social capital. serve others so our lives can find fulfillment. We must Texas, in particular, has a great opportunity to turn its embrace with passion our relationship building efforts and culturally diverse population into a powerful global economy bring new significance to lives by caring for others and and democracy. In 1997 Dr. Steve Murdock, state demogra- seeking to understand them. pher, published his research on the demographics of Texas, We must reframe what it means to be successful in our entitled Texas Challenged. Since his research became public, nation. Our consumption -based economy must be rewired he has spoken to hundreds of groups across the state and I toward becoming a nation of serving others. Our success has has been quoted extensively by educational, business, health often led us to emptiness which has forced us to yearn for and political leaders to cite the drastic change we will experi- things to fill the void in our lives. Now, with an information ence in Texas in the near future. In particular, Dr. Murdock service economy that has gone global, we must use this assesses four major trends in Texas' population: opportunity to include a service and information market brand 1) The changing rate of population growth and the relative role that reaches the souls and minds of future America. of migration and immigration in that growth. Social scientists tell us that culture is really built upon 2) The aging of the population. culture; that all of us are not from where we live. We all have 3) The growth in size of the minority population. "outside" origins and have been influenced by "others." By 4) The changing composition of households. 1 6 • Hispanic Journal www.hispanicjournal.com Hispanic Heritage /September I It —limilimow■limpr According to Dr. Murdock, if current demographic, minorities," are not new to U.S. soil but they are new to the educational and economic trends continue, by 2030 Texas consciousness of the American majority. could have: The irony of this is that they represent the original • A population nearly 63% non - white. (In 1980 the non -white builders and inhabitants of this great nation we call America. population was 34% and in 1990 - 39% respectively.) Americans of African, Asian and Latino descent are only now • A poorer, less educated population and a labor force ill receiving critical notice by our educators, politicians, and prepared to compete in the global market. marketers. Not unlike their "majority" counterparts, they too • Reduced levels of consumer expenditures and net worth per aspire to the "American Dream." For those who believe they household. are losing their dominance and place in the American way of • Substantial increases in markets for owned housing, health life, however, their demographic growth and economic impact care, and related personal care costs, but reduced demand may be perceived as an "American deficit." for traditional educational services. Historically, our economy has evolved from hunter/ • Substantial increases in welfare and human services usage. gatherer, to agriculturalist, to industrialists and to the informs- • Reduced per capital tax revenues but increased government tion /technology. Most of these changes occurred relatively costs. slowly compared to the changes we are experiencing now What Dr. Murdock's study does not address, however, is and will experience over the next twenty to fifty years. With the "big elephant in the room." What will be the relationship the rapid pace of technology, travel and globalization, between the now dominant group and the emerging popula- changes now occur in years, months, days and hours. It will tions? How will we get along? What can we do to ensure this take broad -based wisdom to connect the dots in our complex demographic shift creates a healthy communities and world. economies? Neighborhoods and communities are changing rapidly, Regardless of whether we call ourselves Hispanic, as well. The question remains, however, whether we will bring Asian, African American, or Anglo, we do not all think alike or our diverse populations together to create a strong and vibrant see the world from the same perspective. We all recognize, nation of people that embrace the future together with one however, what it Es to be the "other." The feeling of being vision. Our demographers tell us it's only a question of time isolated and stereotyped is a common experience that has before the ethnically identifiable population becomes the led to problematic situations in our schools, political arena, majority. What will life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and public service. Notwithstanding these different perspec- look like in fifty years? What we do now to adapt to the tives, the following common human traits remain true: changes will determine whether our American experience will "As humans we are created to survive and thrive in continue to inspire our future generations. various environments; the similarities and differences among With the demographic changes, there will be significant us are our histories, cultures, symbols, processes, logic and and observable cultural change in our lives. Since our democ- identities we use to communicate our wants and needs." racy is based on the majority rule, mathematically our new This quote conveys a fundamental truth regarding the leaders will look totally different from our current leadership. In challenge we face in bringing our diverse communities to thirty years the five mega states (Illinois, California, New some level of understanding and respect for all concerned. York, Florida and Texas) are projected to be Latino majorities Within our families, schools, corporations, and communities with forty percent of the electoral votes. Names like Ramirez, there are ambiguous feelings about what is happening and Wong, Mohammed, and Yen will dominate in politics, sports, what will become our individual and collective futures. What entertainment, industry, and education. We are already will it mean to be a Texan in ten years? What will be our seeing this trend in some major metropolitan areas. How identity? What will it mean for us to succeed as individuals or these new leaders and the new dominant population perceive as a nation? their reality will be determined by how we respond to issues Our public schools, long considered a place where affecting us all today. democracy was taught, have become focused on passing Research suggests that human nature is genetically standardized tests. They are being questioned regarding their coded and created to survive based on at least four types of effectiveness and threatened with competing charter schools conflicts which are predicated on fear: and voucher programs. • Perceived limited resources Our higher education institutions are facing questions of • Values and beliefs relevancy and legitimacy regarding how effectively and • Identity efficiently they are preparing our next generation of profes- • Undefined relationships sionals. Are they preparing mere technicians without cultural Given our human nature, the perception and abilities of competence or sense of purpose, researching the obsolete individuals and communities to overcome the fear of the new and the irrelevant? How will we prepare for our economy and and different will be crucial to the outcome of our nation's democracy the millions of first generation students? How well future. Arguably, to some this article is disturbing and per - are our new students being integrated into our schools, haps viewed as irrelevant to the issues affecting our families, communities, and workplaces? communities and institutions and future of our nation. How - While our material success as a democracy is enjoyed ever, it is timely because these emerging populations can by the majority of our population, there is emerging a popula- bring a new spirit to the American dream and energize all tion of new faces that do not necessarily see the world from a Americans to continue to work hard toward perfecting our middle class perspective. These new faces, "identified as democracy. Hispanic Heritage /September wwwhispanicjournal.com Hispanic Journal • 7 t • U.S. history shows that immigrants and Since language proceeds thought, we newly empowered groups have added value can begin by changing our language. This to our nation because they aspire to partici- includes expanding our language to be more pate in the American dream with a new vigor culturally inclusive, less judgmental and more Need help with and passion. Just as the Europeans came to understanding. The thought that leads to enjoy religious, political and economic creative behavior requires that we move from your computer freedom, so recent immigrants and emerging being politically correct to culturally literate; systems? populations seek to build a future for their that we become facilitators of relationships families. In the last generation, millions of that use our cultural, spiritual and emotional immigrants that have risked life and limb to intelligence as part of our personal and join our democracy. Much of what our professional competence; that we not merely institutions have lost by way of their success tolerate others but build trusting relationships • N etwork Design is what these emerging groups bring to renew with them. our energy as a nation. With this new approach to relationships, • S ecurity Our nation's past is not without conse- our schools and communities would have an quences. Our quest for success and achieve- opportunity to understand and connect with • Software Suppot ment must be balanced with the fundamental people instead of judging or celebrating • Planning need to find significance in our private and differences. Individuals and organizations collective lives. Our weakened institutions are would be open to asking questions with a • V irus Removal a reflection of the neglect we have imposed sense of wonderment regarding the perspec- on our children, neighbors and fellow Ameri- tive of those persons who look and act cans. In our quest to achieve the "American differently from them, to become less con - Dream" we have often neglected our families, cerned about being different in their thinking exploited the weak, and compromised our and more willing to sense and hear the Management Plus has been integrity by waiting too long to restore our experiences of others. Further, we could providing reliable IT solutions relationships. explore our inner - selves and be honest about and support for small to mid- In preparing ourselves for the cultural why we feel and believe the way we do. sized companies in the and demographic changes, there are some The ability to realize that all persons Dallas area since 1978. shifts we must also make in our individual have diverse realities and see the world and organizational thinking. To capitalize on differently for reasons that may differ would this reality we must expand our trust relation- lead to strategies for bringing common Let us put our ships beyond those conveniently around us ground through trust. The common ground of experience to work and build partnerships globally, across understanding would allow us to capitalize on for you!! cultures. We must educate our students and the strengths of our diverse populations and professionals to become globally mobile in to use the human networks shared by our order to cross cultural, emotional and diverse citizens to connect with the rest of VO historical borders. the world. Ultimately, we must individually Global and cultural mobility comes from reach an optimal point in our understanding, the art of interpersonal and intra personal relationships, and capacity to trust before we literacy which includes the capacity to can begin as communities and organizations discern and respond appropriately to the to collectively transform our state and our moods, temperaments, motivations and nation with renewed vigor and purpose. d esires of other people, to assess one's own biases, prejudices, beliefs and feelings, and Daniel R. Management Plus to unlearn erroneous assumptions that Hernandez is the it "...Creative, Reliable IT determine our behavior. Our capacity to Associate Vice Solutions... " achieve a new understanding of others and Chancellor of ,# ourselves is guided by our emotional intelli- TexasA &M 972.437.6630 gence and spiritual renewal. University * l i www.managementplus.net With the sea change in cultural and System in the ,, ' ' human systems created by demographic Office of Com- s II . hifts, the ambiguity of relationships and munity Develop- economics will continue to plague us or serve ment. Mkros,�s as the most exciting time in our history. We Hernandez �`��`�. must prepare individually and organizationally received his BA C E R T I F I E D to process and respond to our challenging at TexasA &M Partner realities. We can begin by practicing intellec- University and his JD at Georgetown Univer- tual integrity and honesty regarding the sity School of Law. prejudices and biases that distort our percep- Please direct questions and comments tion of ourselves and others. to hemandez@tamu.edu 8 • Hispanic Journal www.hispanicjournal.com Hispanic Heritage /September