“Detroit is the city of the future. Either it’s going to rise from the ashes, or every other city is going to end up like we are. We get to decide.” — Toby Barlow, New York Times
I’ve always believed Detroit to be the barometer for the health of our nation. We are the proverbial canary in the coal mine. At this moment, as our news media revisits the disaster that afflicted NOLA, I want to remind people of Detroit’s struggle.
Our destruction was not swift, it has stretched over 60 years and is ongoing still. Yet no celebrities will be building houses in our neighborhoods. Detroit’s disaster is economic. It is of our own making; We’ve allowed our industries to systematically cannibalize our communities all in the interest of CEO’s and stockholders. Detroit experienced the first waves of out-sourcing long before it became the buzzword of Oughts: first to the suburbs, then to rural America and then ultimately out of the country. We’ve been struggling here. Detroit’s unemployment rate officially stands around 30%, but experts imagine the real figure to be closer to 50%. Meanwhile the world’s richest nation has failed to adequately address the economic collapse of Detroit.
People will say it was our (the residents) fault, they will say that it is progress, or that America is better off without Detroit. I must question the wisdom of a country that will watch as one of its most important industrial hubs slowly crumbles. I must question the values of a country that can turn its back on thousands of its residents. Let us not forget that people still live here — decent, hardworking people who are struggling to survive.
As we look at the progress made in the NOLA these past five years, let us try to remember the people that our government failed. Let us not accept that things have been “made right” until not only do the people of the gulf coast receive our utmost attention and assistance, but also all people that have suffered from our government’s lack of action in times of need.
