Detroit
We got back Saturday from the North American International Auto Show in beautiful Detroit, Michigan. Okay, so Detroit’s not beautiful. However, we did do the auto show thing. I hope to have more cogent comments later as well as a link for some pictures.
In addition to the auto show, we went to the National Shrine of the Little Flower while we were there. We saw a picture on some travel website and then passed it on the way to where we were staying with a friend. He lives pretty close, so we went back. It is an absolutely amazing piece of architecture. We picked up a brochure in the gift shop about the place, but the real interest is the architecture. I have never seen a church quite like it before. If you’re ever in the area, stop by and take a look.
Other than that, Detroit is the model of a failing industrial city. The city is so entwined and attached to the auto industry that the powers-that-be literally cannot conceive of finding a way to diversify. What Detroit needs to do is apparently politically impossible, so the city continues to decay. It hasn’t quite hit the bottom yet, but you can sure as hell see it coming. It’s kind of a shame, because there’s a lot of neat stuff around the city. On the whole, I can’t have much sympathy. The people that run Detroit are still clinging to a model that is functionally obsolete. I have no sympathy for people that will not adapt to change. The world has moved on, but Detroit won’t move with it. They are trying to cling to the days when Detroit was the world center of the auto industry, and that day is long past.
Oh, well. People will either wake up and demand change or they’ll leave. Either way, the fed will pump more money into trying to prop up a failing social environment. Hopefully, someone up there will get smart sooner rather than later.
In addition to the auto show, we went to the National Shrine of the Little Flower while we were there. We saw a picture on some travel website and then passed it on the way to where we were staying with a friend. He lives pretty close, so we went back. It is an absolutely amazing piece of architecture. We picked up a brochure in the gift shop about the place, but the real interest is the architecture. I have never seen a church quite like it before. If you’re ever in the area, stop by and take a look.
Other than that, Detroit is the model of a failing industrial city. The city is so entwined and attached to the auto industry that the powers-that-be literally cannot conceive of finding a way to diversify. What Detroit needs to do is apparently politically impossible, so the city continues to decay. It hasn’t quite hit the bottom yet, but you can sure as hell see it coming. It’s kind of a shame, because there’s a lot of neat stuff around the city. On the whole, I can’t have much sympathy. The people that run Detroit are still clinging to a model that is functionally obsolete. I have no sympathy for people that will not adapt to change. The world has moved on, but Detroit won’t move with it. They are trying to cling to the days when Detroit was the world center of the auto industry, and that day is long past.
Oh, well. People will either wake up and demand change or they’ll leave. Either way, the fed will pump more money into trying to prop up a failing social environment. Hopefully, someone up there will get smart sooner rather than later.
posted by T at 11:35 AM
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