Shift happens

The Shift Happens video presents a lot of staggering facts and predictions that are difficult to take in all at once, but that individually challenge one to think in larger, more global terms than normal. I found the population facts about China and India especially surprising, especially when comparing these numbers to the U.S. numbers. It is obvious from these populations shifts and from much of our material this semester that global dynamics will be changing in huge ways. Many Americans assume that the U.S. will always be THE global superpower, but, as we have learned, we are already losing jobs to China, and there is a trade deficit that favors China. With the capabilities that the Chinese (and other countries) are developing in the realms of technology and manpower, the U.S. will soon be ousted from their top position. This is scary to think about, in terms of democracy and human rights. Currently, the U.S. has a lot of power in what is happening in other countries as well as our own, and if China were to gain control of this power, with their track record of suppression of their own people, it is frightening to think of the implications this has on the rest of the world.