Traveling the dusty back roads of the Great Plains by motorcycle, I seek the skeletonized reminders of past communities. Foundations mark their former lives like so many concrete grave markers. These cities have long since passed and it makes me wonder why. Did the highways of the 40's and 50's pass them by? Did the rush of new industry and invention during the industrial revolution make them obsolete? Or was it the indifference of our own citizens that caused their demise? Modernity asked people to look for expertise elsewhere.
Cities today are no more immune to progress and indifference than those of the past. I think we must ask ourselves if the question civic modernization posed, worked. Was it right to seek expertise and perfection outside our own communities? Today, in order to survive, our cities must frequent existing (local) providers of goods and services, support our local entrepreneurs and entice high-quality professions and professionals.
When our stories are written, will readers chastise us for the things we didn't do to remain vibrant and alive, or will they praise us for looking inward for health and sustainability instead of outward for answers we already had? In this day of recycling and sustainability, ask yourself, "What am I doing to make my community sustainable? What can I demand of myself and my local government to ensure my community stays viable for myself and my children's children?"