STATE OF RENEWAL
That flag on the left may not be familiar, but it represents the State of Alaska, our 49th state.
Today is the day 47 years ago (January 3, 1959), that Alaska joined the Union. It marked the second time that the country expanded physically via an outright financial acquisition, brought about by a political window of opportunity.
As this Wikipedia entry explains:
"...U.S. Secretary of State William Seward ...urged, and the United States Senate thus approved, the treaty authorizing the purchase of Alaska from Imperial Russia for US$7,200,000 on April 9, 1867..."
"It is by far the largest U.S. state in area, but one of the least populated. It is also one of the wealthiest and racially diverse states.
Purchased from Russia on April 16, 1867, Alaska became the 49th US state on January 3, 1959. The name "Alaska" is most likely derived from the Aleut Alyeska, meaning "great country", "mainland" or "great land."
Of course, the other major outright land acquisition by the United States that literally changed the scope of the country, was the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, with it's own unique history that I briefly touched on this past Fourth of July.
I bring up this business of the country growing through financial acquisition because I wonder if we'll ever see another opportunity and/or event like that within our lifetimes.
As I noted in a post titled "Re-thinking Immigration last October,
"It's one person's opinion, but I think the U.S. is potentially facing a "Coming Crunch" not envisioned by most of the political and media discussions to date.
Very strong and secular technology, globalization, and demographic trends, are creating a perfect storm over the next couple of decades that may fundamentally alter the calculus of how most sovereign states have traditionally thought about immigration (with one not-so minor exception, to come back to later).
It's an irony that businesses, large and small around the world, have recognized this before nations:
that rather than being a liability, people are increasingly an asset to compete for, in the game of globalization.
And in that context, the competition is increasingly a numbers game."
Alaska added much to the United States in terms of geography and resources, but not as much obviously in terms of people.
One of the biggest challenges and opportunities for the United States in this new century is figuring out how make the numbers work best for the country in terms of people, especially in terms of many young supporting the many old.
The solutions do not necessarily require sovereign expansion but may come about via just-in-time maneuvering through the tricky political and cultural rapids of Globalization.
But today is a good reason to think about this issue, thanks to Alaska's special day, the State whose motto is "North to the Future".
In a world that we used to think about in terms of "North-South" axis, we may need to think more and more about "South to the Future".
Happy Birthday, Alaska.
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