What Does a Global Society Look Like? California (New American Media, via AlterNet)

[marmar]

What Does a Global Society Look Like? California

By Sergio Bendixen, New America Media. Posted April 27, 2007.



Young people in California are a mirror on the future of what the United States is becoming as a global society.

Each generation is a mystery to the next, and none are more mysterious to us than our own half-grown children. What is important to them, and what do they fear? What's on their iPod, why are they wearing that -- and why are these accessories so important to them, anyway? And what on earth are they talking about on those cell phones all day long?

Last fall, my firm -- Bendixen & Associates of Coral Gables, Florida -- in collaboration with San Francisco-based New America Media, undertook an unprecedented effort to plumb that mystery. In the first-ever poll of its kind, we reached out to 600 16-to-22-year-olds via the technology they love best -- their cell phones. We focused on California, long perceived as a bellwether for the rest of the nation, and one of the most diverse states in the nation.

One in eight of the nation's young people live in California. Three-fifths are youth of color, and nearly half are immigrants or the children of immigrants. "These young people represent the forefront of the cultural continuum," New America Media Executive Director Sandy Close told us. "To gauge their hopes, fears and perspectives about the future is to glimpse who we are becoming as a society."

If Close is right, there is much to be hopeful about in the new California. What we found surprised and heartened us. The young people we spoke with left us convinced that California's greatest social capital may be the optimism, and inclusiveness, of the younger generation.

...(snip)...

California's young people, as reflected in our poll, are strong believers in the American Dream. Overwhelmingly -- across race, ethnicity and gender -- they believe strongly in their ability to determine their own futures. Despite obstacles, they expect to create successful lives for themselves and imagine a more inclusive and tolerant society for one another. This collective optimism represents a valuable resource for California, and a mirror of what the United States is becoming as a global society.

One thing our conversations with California youth made clear is that this generation embraces, rather than fears, the state's increasing diversity. When asked what defines their identity, they were as apt to cite fashion and music as they were race or ethnicity. The overwhelming majority of young people cited the state's diversity as a strength and maintain diversity among their immediate circle of friends. Two-thirds had dated someone of a different race, and nearly 90 percent said they would be open to marrying or entering into a life partnership with someone of a different race. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/51048/