The Way North

Happy Independence Day.  I hope you spent it with family and friends.

The NYT did an amazing multi-day piece on what it means to be an American, entitled "The Way North." The newspaper spent a month along I-35 from Larado, TX to Duluth, MN conducting interviews, shooting pictures, and telling the story of those who are citizens and those who long to become part of the US.  Days 38 and 39 are particularly wonderful and will be used this fall as we dissect the debate of illegal immigration The 4,072 miles that cuts through the heartland of the United States is referred to as as "ground zero for a historic demographic shift."  It is not surprising that the one term I hammered over and over with students was the phrase, " the minority will become the majority."  It plays into future elections, laws, how we see ourselves as Americans.  It evokes both rage and romanticism as we discussion our history of being a melting pot of immigration and our future as we consider what role immigration should play in our history.

I am especially thankful on this day to celebrate of our freedoms of that of freedom of the press to bring such a story that will encourage debate.