I don't know if you saw this during the Super Bowl last night...

I was born in Michigan.  My parents, while not directly employed by the automobile industry, benefited by the once rich tax base that allowed Michigan to create a great public school system and invest in its state universities.  Automobiles and post WWII growth made that tax base possible and helped to create better lives through investment in public infrastructure.  You see some of the remaining greatness that still exists in Detroit today: the Spirit of Detroit Statue, prize fighter Joe Louis' fist, the restored Fox Theater, the Diego Rivera mural.  All have cameo appearances in the ad.

The first real economic hit happened with the oil embargo of 1973.  Then flight to cheaper domestic labor markets and then to cheaper foreign manufacturing locations.  I have brought wrenching images of the ruins of Detroit to this blog.  I have said, as an urban planner, that what built Detroit, the automobile, really helped lay the foundation for its destruction.  The consequent building of limited access high speed freeways through many intact, and racially segregated areas, promoted the flight of wealth from the city to the suburbs.  No one seemed to care that Detroit lost almost half its population from its peak in 1950 - except the people that still lived there.  The ones that had no choice but to stay.

So, after this ad aired yesterday, pride has discovered a resurgence in the Motor City and the "Imported from Detroit" tagline should send a tinge of guilt to those who buy imported vehicles.  To digress, Detroit has done its part to alienate those looking for personal transportation.  The fact that this is a Chrysler ad is poignant since it was the first automaker to receive loan guarantees from the federal government.  It had to dig into the public trough again, along with General Motors, during the recent economic turn-down.

I bring this here because what this is about is pride - perhaps another word for patriotism - that one feels for your community.  It is frustrating for me when I hear people being called negative in Lake Worth if they point out what is wrong and suggest what is right - or a suggestion to fix the problem.  A community must be aware and continually self-improve in order to meet the needs of its residents - or economic and social despair will result.  That's why I get so disturbed when people we elect in this city think that lower property values are universally a good thing.  Detroit lost half its population in sixty years - Lake Worth has lost half its valuation.  The thing is - Lake Worth suffered this loss in a span of three years.  Other communities similarly situated held on to their value.

Remember, it's much easier to race to the bottom than race to the top.  You don't have any competition, other than those people that want a different reality that may better preserve their community and their life's investment.

Anyone want to take a bus tour of Detroit's ruins?  I'll pay for passage for a few local individuals.