"A community is not found, it is created. How can I just take this? How can I sit here in defeat, a hypocrite, telling my daughter she can do anything she sets her mind to? I know no one who has done this. Defeat is all around me, it's all I've ever known. Daughter, know this, that your father did not just go quietly into the night, another victim of this factory we are all born into. He fought, and he tried to be proof for you, to you, that all things can be done."
(This entry contains dusted off archives from a three piece editorial I did in 2009).
Traveling further up Detroit's 12th Street, my daughter and I come to a stop at a traffic light. The street signs are missing from this intersection, and only one of the two red lights is working. A mother and a young child cross the street, they are caring groceries. They take a diagonal across one of the urban prairies, and disappear behind a collapsing alley garage, gone from view. It's a reminder that I am in a place comparable, at times, to Hell. At the same time, this mother and child are an affirmation of truth, that people here are still fighting, and still dreaming.
I can just hear them now; "why are you beating a dead horse, Sean? You are setting yourself up for disappointment. You can't change anything, why even try?" Have you ever heard that before? I have.
During preparation for Super Bowl XL, I remember reading an article stating that the Detroit public lighting department has had some problems with keeping all the streetlights on. In their defense, the department head mentioned that the problem isn't actually fixing the streetlights, it's going around and testing them. Supposedly, this is part of the reason things get so out of hand. In a similar analogy, this is part of the reason I feel compelled to pick up trash or clean up graffiti. I just got sick of walking past it, over, and over, and over.
Huh, you and I getting involved; who would have thought it actually makes a difference?
Part I
Some time ago, when things were just starting to get depressing around here again, we were talking about why optimistic views are viewed as junk in Metro Detroit, over on DetroitYES.com. I think that entire discussion could be summed up by saying; "The optimists view long term goals, while the pessimists seem to view the short term goals". Oversimplified? I'd love to hear more thoughts, either over there, or in the comments section here, when that discussion is eventually archived.
The comment by Retroit was interesting. He mentioned something many others have said; "The good thing about being a pessimist in Detroit is that you are rarely disappointed!". I don't understand the fear of disappointment. If you need unhappiness to make happiness, than aren't these people just saying they'd rather never ever be happy again? Am I misinterpreting this?
Later in that thread, Supersport mentioned the mentality of; "I'll believe it when I see it". But... that's just it. Some do see it, just like Ford saw the automobile of tomorrow, and Hudson saw a large shopping district on Woodward. Why is it that we laugh instead of encourage and lead? If you want it to happen, do something... whatever you can, with whatever you have, to make it so. The recent announcement of the Eastern Market Plan is a perfect example. I remember a few people laughing at it, and saying they'll believe it when they see it. Other's pointed out how much needed to get done. Zoning changes, building redevelopments, and a change dealing with the parking meters.
If you don't see it now, then you never will. That was an imaginary vision, that was a preview of what was to come, if we want it to be. That means mass acceptance and participation. Business owners and residents need to locate there, and everyone has to pick some of the million tasks up, multiplied to leave room for the many small imminent failures.
It is what it is, and will exist as we want it. We must plan on our furnace to crash, and be tough enough to keep ourselves going when the world outcasts us, and our people call us derelict parents or evil slumlords for it.
Part II
'Little by little we can and we must rebuild our confidence. We can spend until we empty our treasuries, and we may summon all the wonders of science. But we can succeed only if we tap our greatest resources -- (Our) people, (our) values, and (our) confidence.'
-From Jimmy Carter's Crisis of Confidence Speech.
It's true that there are many problems in Detroit. In the past year, Detroit has had an increase in abandoned buildings, closed businesses, foreclosed homes, and in some areas, poor leadership, crime, job losses, high taxes, racism, and under achieving schools. It is popular to complain about the services in Detroit right now. Some say they downright stink for what we pay for, like it's some large bureaucratic system's responsibility to take care of us. The government exists in a democracy as a system and tool for the people. It's not about what our city can do for us, it's what we can do for our city.
A community is not found, it is created. Since a city is it's people; "It's not about what your fellow residents do for you, it's all in what you can do for them". The nature of this tool is obvious. A very good friend and associate of mine told me; "Government is there to provide services that the people cannot do, or the private sector cannot do, most effectively". It does seem to make some sense.
'First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to America is now the most important task we face. It is a true challenge of this generation of Americans.
...“We’ve got to stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking, stop cursing and start praying. The strength we need will not come from the White House, but from every house in America.”'
-From Jimmy Carter's Crisis of Confidence Speech.
Before I finish up this post, I want to add just a few open thoughts. When a problem happens in Detroit, why is it okay? Frequency of tragedies and the fact that they happen everywhere does not mean it is okay for them to continue to happen here and now, or in the future.
Likewise, why, when something happens in the suburbs, is it okay so long as it's not the one you or I live in? Do worse problems somewhere else make your problems okay? Why does it matter if your crime rate is less than Detroit?
When it comes down to it, lets face it, Detroit's throw away children are Grosse Pointe and Bloomfield Hill's throw away children. Without a good education, and resources, some are going to go to prison, and be a drain on all of us. Others will get away with crimes time and again, and be creating the problems our children have to deal with in the future.
'We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I’ve warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure.'
-From Jimmy Carter's Crisis of Confidence Speech.
Part III
In the center of Detroit's flag is the City Seal. The two Latin mottos read Speramus Meliora and Resurget Cineribus, which means "We hope for better things" and "It will rise from the ashes." The seal represents the Detroit fire of June 11, 1805 in which the entire city burned with only one building saved from the flames. The figure on the left weeps over the destruction while the figure on the right gestures to the new city that will rise in it's place.
Could you imagine your entire city burning down, facing a total rebuild? In Detroit this has happened at least twice. Once in 1805 and again in 1967. In 1805 they chose to rebuild the city, eventually leading to many of America's greatest inventions, art and music legends, large corporations, and a city of three million. In 1967, Detroiters decided not to rebuild, but instead moved, and decided the mountain before them was too great. What followed was over forty years of problems, as they tried to live among or adjacent to the city ruins. Eventually, they were forced to leave or sink, and America was stuck dragging along another weakened link in it's chain.
In hindsight, Detroit has gone through a lot, and that's because Detroit has done a lot. Detroit isn't doing as good as other cities, it's true. But, that is because Detroit had to go through a lot more than most cities.
The current situations in our city are precarious. City and suburb neighborhoods are in shambles, and portions of the current leadership still need fresh faces or systems. Our most recent glimmers of hope are facing failure if we give up, and make no mistake, tomorrow is getting much harder for all of us.
But, Detroit is a city of strength. Detroiters do not collapse and fold under the pressure. Detroiters stand strong, because Detroiters know that they learn and grow stronger from failure and adversity; like a chain being hammered through the fires of our smelting plants; like gold being purified or a chain link being strengthened.
Today, I urge you to explore what you can do for your city/metro. It doesn't matter if it's picking up pieces of trash on your block or on the walk to work and lunch Downtown, reporting a burned out streetlight, reporting crimes when they happen to you, simply mentioning something new in the city, editing a Detroit Wikipedia article, or giving money to a Detroit area non-profit institution.
Remember, everything that has happened in Detroit has happened as a result of acting on dreams, or not having the will power to see the dreams through. Milestones are either reached or missed. What happens next is up to all of us. Will our grand children look back and see us as failures, or a city that was rebuilt twice? With my own daughter riding with me through all of our collective homes, I leave you with a final quote, an excerpt from Detroit Mayor Bing's State of the City Address on February 22nd, 2011.
'These investments, the energy and support show tremendous faith in our new direction and a commitment to being part of the solution. Others see that we are changing, but what do you see? It is time for us to look in the mirror and recognize that Detroit is on the right track. More importantly, it is time for all of us to think about what we can do to help our city. Good government creates an environment to help regular people do extraordinary things. It inspires people to work together and take responsibility for their community.
That is the Detroit we want to be, and are working to become. But we cannot do it without your help. It is time to ask…what will your contribution be?'
(Portions of this post have been dusted off from my archives. Some of those archives can be found by clicking here).
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