People are out of work. They're hurting. And they're all wondering what they're going to do to make a comeback. And we're all scared because this isn't a game. The people of Detroit know a little something about this. They almost lost everything.
All that matters now is what's ahead. How do we come from behind? How do we come together? And how do we win? Detroit is showing us it can be done. And what's true about them is true about all of us.
It is curious to see how Chrysler's marketing whizzes are attempting to conflate Detroit's economic challenges with America's. Predictably, their skillful mix of sentimentality and nationalism is resonating and even selling some cars.
There are those who believe that the best path to achieving this city's comeback is by getting our mojo, er, motor back. As Clint Eastwood vows in the new Superbowl ad: "The world is going to hear the roar of our engines."
I do not believe that the answer to Detroit's future is to look to our past. We ruled the industrial revolution. We were the Silicon Valley of the Twentieth Century. We lifted generations up into the middle class. But it must be said that our future, whatever it is as a community, will undoubtedly lie elsewhere. Yes, selling some more cars in the short term might cushion the blows, but the ad has it wrong - this is not the second half of the same game, this is a whole new ball game.
The present is already looking very different than what many had imagined. The future may end up being almost unimaginable. The industrial revolution is over. The era of cheap distance (abundant fossil fuels) is coming to an end. The growing world population does not match up well with the planet's finite supply of natural resources. Global warming is gathering momentum. And just when we need them the most, democratic institutions around the world are deeply compromised.
Yes, people in America and around the world are looking to Detroit and cheering for our comeback. We are farther down a road that they too may encounter ahead. But we should all consider that the comeback will not come from trying to return to a failing economic and social model. While technology can help and the arts can reveal and inspire, our comeback must come from embracing the shift the world is making and finding our unique role in that process.
What might that look like? Moving from a global economy to a local economy. From petroleum to renewable energy. From freeways and strip malls to walkable, vibrant neighborhoods. From incarceration to expanded education and opportunity. From banking predators to community capital. From taxpayer supported arenas and auto plants to taxpayer supported local entrepreneurs and cooperatives. From fast food to food security. From demolition to recycling and green building rehabs. From city vs suburbs to one metropolitan community. Who's in?
