Date posted: February 6, 2006 - Monday
Title: How far does charity extend?
Current mood: aggravated
“What kind of country would allow one of its greatest cities to become what Detroit has become?”
I saw this in the paper the other day. It is a quote from an official in Detroit attempting to make his case for why a lot of money and effort should be poured into the city to make it cleaner, safer and more livable. It came on the eve of the Superbowl where a major cleanup had taken place to provide a party atmosphere for the high rollers who would come to town for the game.
This struck a chord in me when you put it alongside quotes which have been made by officials in New Orleans concerning the need to rebuild after Katrina.
I was a little dumbstruck by the arrogance and pure gall of the assumptions it is the duty of the country to pour money by the truckload into these cities to correct problems the cities themselves and their citizens have not corrected in years.
Hurricane aside, New Orleans had problems before Katrina; as did Detroit. Both cities have a long and storied history of corruption and mismanagement by city officials. Both cities have had economic problems for a long time.
In Detroit the automobile industry has been foundering for years as the “Big Three” failed to meet the challenge of competition for Japan and Germany. And now they have to compete with places like Korea and Yugoslavia for the car buyer’s dollar.
In New Orleans there may be a party atmosphere, but there is also an economy that has struggled for years. As the cleanup and rebuilding began officials warned the city would have to clean up its’ methods of doing business or the effort would fail.
We are, as a rule, a compassionate nation. A nation which rises to the challenge to help our neighbors who struggle with difficulty and disaster. But the assumption that we, as a nation, have a “duty” to clean up the messes that local governments have been too inept or lazy to correct themselves is irritating.
The great majority of people in this nation work hard for the money they earn. They are more than wiling to extend a hand to a neighbor in need. But should they be “shamed” into bailing our communities that cannot get out of their own way? Should we be criticized as a lesser nation because we aren’t quick to dump wealth into a rotten and festering situation?
I’m not sure what the solution is to these problems. I feel for the citizens and their struggles. But I am
