Metro Detroit: Lets Support the "D"!

A few years ago I was running the last leg of the Detroit Marathon along the new Riverwalk that runs along the Detroit River. As I ran alongside hundreds of others, I watched the boats on the river and scanned the shores of Windsor, Canada just across the river.  Cruising past the majestic Renaissance Center, the home of General Motors, I drew close to the finish line and felt a sense of pride in my town and a great hope for the future of this city. It seems every time I go to the city, I find some new signs of re-birth and reasons to hope in the future despite the financial turmoil we read of in the headlines.

It was, in fact, another moment for hope in a brighter future last week as city and state government leaders announced that Detroit was declaring Chapter 9 bankruptcy. It may be hard to see how our residents can be hopeful given that the word bankruptcy by definition signifies complete financial ruin. But as for many corporations and municipalities in the United States, our bankruptcy laws can offer a new beginning and a chance to be forgiven our debts.

As news reports have pointed out, there have been decades of mismanagement and corruption in Metro Detroit that have led us to this place.  But through these difficult years, there has always been a strong undercurrent of that the grit and determination and soul that once made this city one of the greatest industrial powers in the world.  We saw this determination in business leaders who donated millions of dollars and countless hours of their time to invest heavily in the cities rebirth; in local celebrities who started charities, one after the other, to give back to their home town; to residents who wouldn't leave their city even when the lights were literally turned out! 

I have always loved a "can do" person. You know the people who don't accept no for an answer? These are the people who don't get fearful or throw their hands up when a problem seems impossible to solve, but rather, they embrace the challenge and dig deeper to find a new and unique way to resolution. What continues to drive them, I believe, is an understanding that there is a way out, even if the answer isn't immediately obvious. These people, and all of us, enlist the endless fount of ideas and knowledge, that I think of as Divine Intelligence, to solve any challenge. A favorite author of mine, Mary Baker Eddy, wrote in her seminole work Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "Knowledge that we can accomplish the good we hope for, stimulates the system to act in the direction which Mind points out." 

Lets support the "can-do" people in Detroit! Rather than naysaying, or making dire predictions, we can all support Detroit's progress by believing that our city leaders can accomplish the good we hope for. Join me too, in pledging to visit Detroit more often! Support the arts, our fine restaurants and our beautiful waterfront by becoming a regular patron. See you in the "D"!