Ed Balcerzak's commentary was excellent and I couldn't agree more with what he is saying. I have lived most of my life in the Cleveland area and grew up in Parma during the 1950s and 1960s. I have also had the opportunity to live in other parts of the country and what he is saying could also apply across the country. There was a time during the Great Depression and world war 2 when there was a community spirit across the nation and in northeast Ohio. It was a belief that "we were all in the same boat" and the spirit was necessary to win the second world war. This same community spirit continued on through the 1950s and into the 1960s and led to the civil rights movement, the space program and other advances. However that began to unravel in the late 1960s when Vietnam proved that some were not in the same boat as others. If you were smart enough (or had the right family connections) you could avoid the draft and never have to serve in that war. There is no dispute that those who fought in Vietnam were primarily the sons of factory workers. This carried on into the 1970s which has been often referred to as "the 'me' decade". That spirit of community broke down. The watergate scandal showed that we could no longer trust the government to do what is best for the country. Now it is "every man for himself". Companies no longer value long term employees. Many large companies don't just practice age discrimination, they have perfected it. Corporate executives make obscene salaries while they "downsize" workers and outsource jobs overseas. I once heard a manager say "if you want loyalty, get a puppy dog." Corporations look upon the government as the enemy rather than as a partner. However what has really hurt northeast Ohio more than anything else is the balkanization of the region. Is there any same reason that we need over 50 different city and village governments in Cuyahoga County? Is there any sane reason that we need 32 different school districts in Cuyahoga County? Currently I live in Parma Heights. Is there any reason you need Parma and Parma Heights? Unless you have lived here all your life, you can't tell when you leave Parma and enter Parma Heights. They share the same schools, so why do they need seperate mayors, city councils, police and fire departments? Back in the early 1990s, I was a member of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association's Speakers Bureau. I went around the area giving talks on things like the rock hall and gateway. So many times I heard people saying "Why should MY tax dollars go to build a new stadium and a fancy museum downtown. I haven't been downtown for twenty years." That kind of thinking is killing the region. When I was growing up in Parma, the mayor said "We don't need Cleveland. We have a fine city without all the problems of Cleveland." That short sighted attitude, not to mention outright bigotry has no place in modern society. Parma's fortunes are directly tied to Cleveland's and vice versa. A good way to start is to elect those to public office that demonstrate positive leadership and aren't afraid to put parochial interests aside for the greater good. There is an expression I learned in business - "A fish rots from the head down." That also applies to politics and leadership in general. It comes from the top.
from Cool Cleveland reader Lee Kamps lee921ATatt.net (:divend:)