Mono culture

Variety is strength when a society, nation, human species or any kind of groups are talked about. The potato famine that happened in Ireland and Scottish Highlands in the middle of 19th century tells us how dangerous it could be to depend on a single species.
Irish staple food was potato along with bread. She was already a very poor country. People tried hard to increase the potato crop. Gradually they came to grow only one species of potato that brought about relatively high crop. One year, a disease named late blight attacked this species of potato plant. It began to spread all over Ireland, followed by large scale starvation. It eventually became a historic disaster because it changed the total landscape of Ireland. It is said that one and a half million people died from starvation and mal-nutrition-related diseases such as cholera. More than 2.5 million people emigrated mainly to the US. The population of Ireland dropped in only a matter of ten years from 8 million to 4 million. The population has not recovered fully yet. A little more than 5 million people live in that country now, while far more Irish people, 70 million live in the US, who are the descendants of the emigrants. JFK, Clinton are one of them. The famine's after effect was far greater than our imagination. It changed the world.
This is what the history tells us. If people in ireland had grown other species of potatoes, the disaster would have been avoided.
When we look at what we are doing now, I can't but think that we are doing the same all over again. We have not learned from our history. Planting only cedar trees for the sake of our convenience is another good example of our self-weakening scenario.
The US is strong because she swallows a wide variety of ethnic groups, religions and cultures to be united into one country. Japan is weak because we have a climate that do not allow dissidents. Our minds have shrunk inside the narrow islands. We are notorious for not accepting refugees, keeping strict policy for giving a long-term working visa. This might be only a reflection of the mentality of individuals in this country. We do not like dissidents. We do not like argument. Of course the US has more problems than ours but by solving the problems one by one, through arguments, accepting dissidents, they have at least have more chances to become stronger not only economically but mentally.
Hayfever is painful indeed.