LatinaLista — Only three days left till New Year’s Day — and the annual parade of stories of the first babies born in 2007.
The U.S. Census Bureau released a press release saying that the United States is expected to register one birth every 8 seconds during the month of January.
If I were wagering a bet, I would lay some serious dinero on the chances of there being more Latino babies born after the stroke of midnight come January 1 than any other ethnicity in the United States.
In 2003, Fatima was the first baby of the New Year in Utah hospital.
(Source: University of Utah Health Science Center)
And while there will be those who bitch and whine that it’s all Hispanic immigrants overflowing maternity wards across the country and running up hospital bills that they can’t pay, the long-term answer is that these children will pay this country back with something far more valuable than paper currency.
According to a very interesting article in The Sydney Morning Herald, rich, developed countries with low birthrates are going to have an extremely difficult time defending themselves in the future because there won’t be enough young people to recruit to serve in their military services.
Whereas, the United States, by virtue of the Hispanic birthrate, don’t share the same dismal future.
The article cited how Richard Armitage, the former U.S. deputy secretary of state, told an Australian audience that this shift in global demographics means national defense policies are going to undergo some serious changes.
What will it mean in the future?
Well, if today’s average age in Australia is 36.9 years and in Japan it’s 42.9 years and those ages are compared to the average age in Pakistan of 19.8 years and Nigeria’s 18.7 years – not exactly the strongholds of peace and tranquility – then the future global war on terror may be played out a lot more differently than it is today.
The emerging imbalance in youth populations will force developed countries into a serious rethink on many fronts – from the structure of defence forces and the reliance placed on technology over manpower, to the desirability of new immigration programs and international coalitions, to ultimately, the way force is used.
The US Census reports that 27.2 years was the median age of the Hispanic population in 2005. That’s a whole 9 years younger than the 36.2 years for the population as a whole.
Since it is true that the Latino birthrate outpaces the birthrates of all other ethnicities in the United States then it’s pretty predictable that US Latinos will be looked to providing the future security of this country.
Pretty ironic considering how too many are blaming Latino immigrants for violating today’s security by being here illegally and having children who can claim US citizenship.
Yet, it’s these children who set our country apart from the other old, industrialized nations and provide a hopeful future that our country’s defense systems will remain strong.
At the least, these children deserve the best educational preparation.
After all, they truly are our future heroes.
