The stars and stripes forever? Futurist and author Juan Enriquez isn’t sure of that. He cites a long history of borders, countries and flags that have changed, and warns the United States isn’t immune.

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Uploaded to Flickr by Pop!Tech on October 20, 2006

The Untied States of America: Polarization, Fracturing, and Our Future"People assume continuity where there is none."

Enriquez demonstrates that those invidsible lines in the sand--and soil and sea--known as "borders" are as impermanent as the human creatures who determine them.

Starting with a telling animated piece, Imperial History of the Middle East, he demonstrates how common it is for countries to come and go.

What's more, how common it is for peoples with regional identity to hold on to the desire for autonomy, even in countries with centuries of history as a nation--the Basques and Galicians in Spain, for example.

Enriquez deconstructs the American identity and our short, but telling, history of stars and stripes on our flag(s). To date, no US President has been buried under the same flag that he was born under. Juan reprimands us to not take our country for granted, because: "Survival is not mandatory."

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