The Misery of the City



 

 

"Nobody know where you're going
Nobody cares where you've been
'Cause you belong to the city"

 

You Belong to the City

Glen Frey 

 

 

 

Okay - I will say it. Our cities are a national disgrace. Not just a disgrace, a huge embarrassment. Many of our cities have become nothing more than cesspools. Crime, grime and dysfunction. To walk down many of the streets after dark in most of our larger cities is taking your life in your hands. Feral youth, running in packs, looking for their next prey.

 

How in the world did it get to this point? I have traveled in the Far East, Australia and Europe and although not perfect, the cities for the most part are much safer. Why is it I feel more uneasy walking down the streets of a large city in my own country than in another part of the world? In fact, why is it I feel uneasy walking down many of the streets in Minneapolis, a city I have lived by for over six decades, than Sydney, Tokyo or Amsterdam?

 

The tolerance for graffiti is just one small example. Many on the Left see graffiti and think it is "cool" that our young people can express themselves artistically. Others, such as myself, see this as vandalism. You have no right to walk up to someone's property and deface it. You also have no right to deface property that belongs to the public. I see graffiti all over in Minneapolis. The next time you are waiting at a train crossing, count the number of rail cars which don't have graffiti on them.

 

Cities like Detroit have become "hollowed out". There is nothing left to build a tax base on. The people that remain are stuck in filth and corruption, and there is often no way out. This is our American Dream? Fifty years ago, talented young people would flock to Detroit seeking good paying jobs. It was a mecca of manufacturing and opportunity. It had an international reputation. It was a city full of pride and opportunity. Now it looks like a bombed out war zone. To live in Detroit is only slightly better than living in a Third World country.

 

Last year the City of Chicago had more deaths by gunfire than Afghanistan, which is an active war zone. Like many of our larger cities, Chicago is a dichotomy of the very well off and the very poor. It is okay as long as you stay out of "those areas". "Those areas" has become code speak for minority, poor and dangerous. We accept "those areas" as fact now. Just stay away from them, and you should be fine. This is wrong thinking and we know it. There should not be any "those areas". It is a blot on our national fabric that we allow this to continue. Nobody should have to live in a city more dangerous than a war zone. Period. 

 

The next time you are in the city, think about this - is this the way you want our cities to look? Do you feel safe in any part of the city? Would you want you kids to play, ride their bikes, or walk in any part of the city? Our national pride should be front and center right now shouting "THIS IS NOT OKAY!". We are America, damn it! We expect better of ourselves. During the recent gun debate, someone on the Left said one country is afraid to send citizens to our country because of our lax gun laws. I think that person was half right. It is not because of not having more gun laws, it is because we can't (or don't) enforce existing gun laws. The result - out of control crime in our cities. 

 

We need to turn this around, and quickly. If we continue to allow our cities to slide into decay, we will not only have hollowed out cities, but a hollowed out county as well.