Cartoon 847: Careful what you wish for

The concept of “nation” is a Western invention centuries old. It grew out of “country”. A country was defined by ethnicity. Nations and empires were defined by conquest.

Much of the strife we are experiencing today has its roots in ethnicity. A case in point is the Kurds. During the colonial period boundaries were drawn for countries in the Middle East. The boundaries took little notice of the geographical ethnicity. The Kurds spread across Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey and Syria. They seek their own State.

We can further see this playing out with Russia and Chechnya, China and Tibet, Spain and the Basque. It is also playing out with England and Scotland. A part of Canada near the border with the US was recently hightlighted in the British media. They showed a street where the houses on one side were technically in the US and on the other in Canada. At a glance there appeared no difference, it was all one. Now America wants to put a high barrier and restrict access to the sides of the street. This flies in the face of a community that never really acknowledged the national differences. It is this national mentality of countries around the world that is being challenged today forcefully.

In America there is a desire to recruit Asians, primarily ethnic Hans. Most are Chinese, but they extend in other South eastern countries. The reason is they academically stand out. As a result, they shrew school admissions sharply in their direction. At the college and university level, “B” schools have a very active recruit programs of foreign students. They are tapping the wealth seeking these students that can pay the cost of their education unassisted. It is part of another trend. American higher education is being priced out of the mass American market.

There is a conundrum. China has exported its engineers and other support people around the world. This is as it funds and builds infra-structure in these countries. Their people show up as a community with families. Their people come in and they do not assimilate. They remain of the Han culture. In essence it becomes colonization.

The Chinese are the largest group of foreign students studying in America by a great margin. Traditionally most return home after their education. But in places like California they are staying and becoming Han communities. Could America find itself colonized and the leadership of the nation by ethnic Chinese? Anything is possible.

You wish for the money, but be careful what you wish for.