Thomas L. Friedman

So fast forward seven, eight years ago, I went back to Wilmer.

Wilmer, Minnesota today,

is 40% Somali, Latino, and other immigrants.

And I wrote a column about how the town had transformed and had done so actually rather peacefully, not without problems, not without challenges.

But I told this remarkable story about Wilmer.

I started my visit though at Wilmer High School.

And we're standing in the lobby and it comes to be breakfast time and they have a breakfast break for students.

So they're all lined up for coffee and rolls.

And it looks like a Benetton ad.

I mean, it's just incredibly diverse.

So I say to the principal, do you have to have diversity class?

He kind of chuckled and said, yeah, we tried that.

And the student said, get lost.

Because Zhao is now dating Juan's sister.

And Aisha is best friends with Zhao's brother.

OK, this diversity is normal for them.

And I do believe our country is in a transition now from a white majority country to a minority majority country.

It is a wrenching transition for some people because there are Americans who have gone into the grocery store in the last 20 years and the woman at the cash register was not wearing a baseball hat.

And they went to the office and their boss rolled up a robot and it was studying their job.

Their sense of home, of cultural norms and of work have all been destabilized at the same time.