MY City, Detroit

Living in the metro Detroit area is not easy nowadays, the economy is horrible, and to make it worst, the city just seems to be going down even more. i am proud of my city, I love Detroit, her history and architecture is beautiful. She is over 300 years old, and has a storied past. we have seen the civil rights movement upfront and experienced moments of great hatred and moments of even greater love.

What to do with such a city…

Many people i meet as I travel have a very different view of the city, they see her as dead a burned out shell and a city that just needs to go away. they only see the scars left from the past, and hear about the new scares being created (our Mayor scandal over text messages, our city councils inability to do anything that is healthy for our city). They can not see the beauty of the city, they can not see past the abandoned buildings and grime of her exterior.

It’s sad…

But as of late, I too have been finding it harder to look past all that is, to see all that was and all that can be. The history of Motown records, the assembly line, green spaces to rival any city in the world, this is the city that was, and a city that can be once again, if only her care takers would allow it.

The past, the ugly past, has away of never leaving this city, the 1967 riots are still being fought here, they never ended, and it seems that the city will not let it go. But that’s not a fair statement, I think the city had let it go, a long time ago, its her political machine that will not, they seem to strive on it, to gain energy from it. It’s sad really to see so many people stuck in such an ugly time as that. 

The race card is always ready to be laid, every hand dealt in the city seems to be tainted with it, as if the next dealing must be one of prejudice and hatred. Race relations can not move in if trust is not in the vocabulary, and it seems that many of the city’s care takers do not trust.

It is dismaying…

I want to hold Detroit up high I want to be proud of my hometown, I was born there, lived there until the mid 1970’s, but I have always considered myself a Detroiter. She is a gem that is in need of a polishing, but it seems that every time we get close, the old and ugly side of Detroit rears it’s ugly head.

The City is getting a new mayor today, and with the grace of God, this will mean a turn around for a city i love, maybe we will end this silliness that was Detroit politics and maybe we will reinvent ourselves. But I have seen this all before, I have held my breath only to have it knocked out of me. It is getting harder and harder to keep the hope up, but I will try, for I love my City…

PauL