“The number of foreign-born mothers having babies in England and Wales in 2016 reached 28%—the highest level on record, official statistics show. This figure has increased every year since 1990” (BBC, July 19, 2017). Fertility rates among English and Welsh women between ages 20-24 are now at their lowest rate in almost 80 years.

In a recent speech in Poland, U.S. President Donald Trump made the following bold statement about the international challenges facing the West: “Just as Poland cannot be broken, I declare today for the world to hear that the West will never, ever be broken… Our values will prevail, our people will thrive and our civilization will triumph” (Fox News, July 6, 2017).

While helping Mom clean up in the kitchen after a big family dinner one afternoon, we became engaged in a discussion about my future and education. We did not come to any major conclusions or make any decisions that day, but she did encourage me to “think beyond myself”; to have “vision” and “foresight.”

According to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation, “95% of American citizens use some form of digital technology an hour before they go to bed,” and 60 percent of Americans also experience sleep problems almost every night (zmescience.com, April 23, 2017).

In a clearly expressed response to what has been called U.S. isolationism, “The European Union and Japan have formally agreed [on] an outline free-trade deal. The agreement paves the way for trading in goods without tariff barriers between two of the world’s biggest economic areas… They also want to send a clear message internationally that the EU and Japan, highly-developed democracies, remain committed to a liberal, free-trading, rules-based world, and they will seek to shape it even if the U.S.