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And it is not the recurrent problem that Afro-Americans are confronted with in their effort to appropriate American history (which they were forced to join … contrary to the other ethnic groups that reached the US following their own will) and identity, which will lead to a better opening to the world. Between the fascination for a completely made-up history (in which Egypt is a black mother-civilization of all following civilizations, or where the "blackitude" of Jesus is a basic fact - I witnessed edifying diatribes in this respect during the meetings celebrating the Black History Month in Cleveland), and the feeling to have been trapped by the integration offered by the Whites in the 60's-70's (brilliant Afro-American lawyers, children of the civil rights, recommending to the black students of the Stillman College not to integrate with the whites, and taking as an example of the problems African-Americans face the persistence of racism within schools even in the richest and most liberal areas). The myth of a dreamed-Africa, in the end ignored, and the rejection of the European axis, provide no perspective in the short- nor in the middle-term.

The Internet appears de facto as the only means to attract the massive attention of the younger generations of Americans to the rest of the world … under the condition that in the US as well as in Europe, the awareness is raised on the risk that there is that whole generations from the most powerful country in the world become totally alien to everything that is not themselves. For the moment, it seems that some American officials (State Department, Ministry of Education/FIPSE, academics) try to act (like in the organisation of the International Education Week in November) ; but the internal inertia is heavy while outside there is no awareness of the importance of these challenges whatsoever.

To make it short, we must imagine the Americans of tomorrow profoundly different from those that the world knew in the 20th century.
They will also be submitted to new constraints that yesterday's Americans could afford to ignore, but that will weigh over that of tomorrow*. Their common heritage is only partly common and their collective appropriation is not yet given. It is a population in transition towards a new model yet to be defined, which shall be marked by the end of the classically dominant WASP model. Let's hope that the transition will be handled smoothly. But there again, nothing is certain.
Finally and that's the most worrying point, the younger generations of Americans are today among the most ill-prepared to confront and understand globalization, its constraints, and consequences. Contrary to a general idea among the younger Americans, globalisation is not the "americanization" of the rest of the world, but rather it requires to understand better diversity and different cultures; and paradoxically, this implicates an increased influence of the rest of world over the United-States themselves. Internal ethnic diversity could contribute to widen their horizon but only if the sollicitations exist.
As a Newropean, it is clearly this aspect which appears to me as the most likely to convey negative consequences for Europe and for the rest of the world, and which requires an original action from the Europeans in particular. Indeed the problems of transition (not only demographic) that this country is about to encounter could bring very prejudicial over reactions.
The responsibility of the ruling generations as well as of the coming one (the 40 years old) is crucial. Making education a priority as President Bush is doing, is essential ; but the historical challenge is to do it, not only to try to do it.
* The tragic events of September 11th have painfully illustrated this aspect.