Two issues of overwhelming portent face America. One is the economic cliff, a historic tax increase coupled with spending cuts; a one-two punch to a faltering economy. This will take effect on January 1. Congress is likely to come to an agreement to lessen its impact.

The other issue is the racial divide that will tear this nation apart. This is taking place right now and nothing can be done about it.

It started at the beginning of the cultural revolution, 1960.

The cause de celebre at that time was the National Origins Formula. The purpose of this law was to “preserve American homogeneity.” It allowed immigration from nations of similar cultures but excluded Africans and Asians. At the height of the civil rights movement, it was seen as an embarrassment by President Kennedy who said it was “nearly intolerable.”

After Kennedy's assassination, President Lyndon Johnson took up the civil rights torch and replaced the National Origins Formula with the Immigration Reform Act of 1965. Now it was Africans and Asians who were preferred over white Europeans. Proponents of the Act assured the public that it would not change America's culture.

The floodgates were flung open for immigrants of different races. At the same time control of the U.S.- Mexico border was relaxed.

Between 1961 and 2010, 37 million immigrants poured into the U.S., plus 14 million more who entered illegally. Adding to the new racial mixture is the disparity of birthrates. The birthrate of whites dropped to an average of 1.8 births for every female; that's below the replacement level of 2.1.

The birthrates for black and Hispanic women is 2.1 and 2.4 respectively. Last year, for the first time, there were more babies born to blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, than whites. Also, for the first time, race was a prominent, if not deciding, issue in the reelection of Barack Obama.

Mitt Romney won the biggest share of white voters than any Republican contender ever had. He lost. Barack Obama won 93 percent of the black vote, 71 percent of Hispanic vote, and 69 percent of the single women vote. He won. Of course other factors entered into his victory, but race, ethnicity, even sex cannot be dismissed.

Immigration “reform” will certainly be high on the Democratic agenda. Reform will probably put the 14 million illegal aliens on the fast track to citizenship and on the Democratic roll and dole. The GOP, Grand Old Party, will become the irrelevant WOP, White Old Party, if it doesn't outdo their political rival.

Where will the browning of America take us?

The electorate will become a balkanized mixture of special interest groups. The Census Bureau predicts that by 2050 America will be composed of four racial groups: whites, 46 percent; Hispanics, 30 percent; blacks, 15 percent; and Asians, 9 percent.

We shall become an America without Americans. Citizens will not so much identify themselves as Americans but as members of the racial voting bloc to which they belong.

Aspiring politicians will be bean counters promising benefits to whatever group or groups will garner the most votes. The land of the free will morph into whatever the electorate can get for free.

The federal government will continue to grow. According to an exit poll, sixty percent of whites think the government should do less. But sixty percent of Hispanics think it should do more, as do 73 percent of blacks.

America will experience growing racial strife.

Prof. Tatu Vanhanen of the University of Tampere, Finland ranked 148 countries according to ethnic diversity and levels of conflict. He found that homogeneous nations had low levels of conflict while highly diverse countries had high levels.

He wrote, “The more the population is divided into separate ethnic groups, the more they seems to become organized along ethnic lines, and the more often they tend to resort to violence in ethnic conflicts.”

True, America has always been a nation of newcomers. Prior to 1965 immigrants came from a dozen European and Scandinavian nations. They spoke different languages and had their own customs. Yet there was a commonality about them that enabled them to meld into a unified whole, the proverbial melting pot. They learned the language, even Anglicized their names and became Americans. All that has been swept away.

Yes, diversity is still celebrated, but by how many and for how long?

Sincerely,

Bob Scroggins

New Milford, PA