Dateline Dayton — I have always encouraged my children and grandchildren to learn a second language, and it has been Spanish. I was delighted when I learned that my youngest granddaughter was learning Spanish in pre-school.

Today I would recommend Chinese as that second language. Spanish could help you get a job in fields dealing with all the illegal immigrants here and still entering our country. Chinese, however, will be spoken by the individuals controlling this country in the near future — unless we are willing to do something about the crisis that exists today.

Why do I say that? I just read an article about the changes that are coming, and I will share them along with my comments.

The U.S. Postal Service will be a thing of the past. This may not be all bad, However, you will think twice before mailing because it won’t be going for anywhere near the 44 cents we are paying today. Could something be done to save our postal system? I believe so. We no longer need daily mail deliveries. The Postal Service needs friendlier clerks and better utilization of manpower. People today are not going to tolerate the long lines you encounter almost daily, to get to an individual who appears as if he/she doesn’t want to be there.

Checks — I don’t need to say anything. This has been talked about for years.

Newspapers — I still enjoy the morning paper while eating breakfast. But now we are able to get the news from thefrontpageonline.com. I’ll bet Ari could share stories on how difficult it is just to publish this edition on line. He might also share how much harder it is to publish a print edition and the challenges being faced by newspapers today.

Books — For our anniversary, I brought my wife a Kindle, and that is only one of many types of electronic media available for reading. In addition to a lower cost, you don’t have a book to store or need to find something to do with it when you’re done.

Land telephone lines — I have been trying to convince Pauline to get rid of our home phone. But she likes knowing it is there. We both have cell phones, and they have all the features of our land phone and more besides. I would assume there is something we could do to have the internet on the computer, probably cable. Today, pay phones are just about a thing of the past.

Music — This is an area in which I know little. I realize there are many ways to get your music today. We just got rid of all our records, which was a task. People no longer are interested. The gentleman who took them said he’d probably use the covers.

Television — Here’s another area where I’m not knowledgeable. I have a difficult time with the remote, much less the DVD player. People are now watching programs on their computer and other devices.

Privacy — I don’t believe we are going to lose this. It already has been lost. We can thank our government, credit cards, and the host of loyalty and point cards for our loss of privacy. “They” know everything you buy, how often you purchase, how much you spend and a host of other information. Cameras are everywhere, in the stores, on street corners, probably even in the public restroom — so be sure to show you best side.

Deindustrialization of America — This is why I made the statement about learning Chinese. Have you tried to buy something “Made in the USA”? Sure, it might have an American-sounding name. But look at the package. See where it was made. This is especially true for items purchased at most big box stores. American-named companies are having their products manufactured in foreign countries.

America is losing its manufacturing plants. We continue to buy, the foreign countries build, their economy grows and we have more unemployment. How many manufacturing jobs have been lost in just the past five years? Where did they go? I couldn’t try to guess the number, but I would say China is where they went. What do these countries purchase from us? Very little.

I just read in a financial publication that the growth rate for China is expected to be 6.6 percent, the U.S. 3.2 percent and the world 3.1 percent. This is sad! We must take back our great country and get our people back to work. If we don’t, we’re going to become lazy and need to speak Chinese to survive. English will be our second language.

The balance of trade issue even exists on the local level. If your town has a construction project, is it a local contractor doing the work? If your state is purchasing a service, is the company getting the contract from within the state? If the U.S. government is issuing a contract, is it an American company being awarded the deal?

Happy New Year!

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net