Forget the Past, It's Forgotten Us

The Arsenal of Democracy, Battle of the Overpass, tailfins and the $5-a-day wage are vital parts of Detroit's history.

But clinging to the past will not protect jobs, save companies, preserve pensions or keep homes out of foreclosure.

The past guides us, but the future defines us. Right now, that future resembles a dark tunnel where the only light is a locomotive on a collision course.

Why forget the past? Because the rest of America already has. Why should anyone care about Detroit's role in arming the troops during World War II when 700 people lined up recently for a school janitorial job near Canton, OH? Metro Detroit isn't the only town hurting.

Most Americans oppose rescuing Detroit. Even President Obama, laughing his way through an interview on CBS' “60 Minutes,” said “the only thing less popular than putting money into banks is putting money into the auto industry.”

Auto industry old-timers focus on past greatness and revel in the achievements of leaders like Lee Iacocca. He did a great job in his day, but he can't save Detroit now. His contemporary, Bob Lutz, led General Motors' product revival since 2001, yet GM still struggles for survival.

That's because the problems facing the industry are larger than any one person, no matter how gifted or charismatic.

I empathize with auto workers bitter because consumers aren't buying the vehicles they build. But most can't afford any vehicles right now, regardless of brand.

The problem across metro Detroit is the mentality that a job entitles employees to the benefits enjoyed by thousands of workers who owned summer homes and retired comfortably in better times.

Those days are gone, like the prosperity that once blessed the textile and steel industries, which have since left American shores or consolidated to a fraction of their former size.

In many ways, the past wasn't so great. As a kid, I remember massive oil spots on the driveway, cars stranded and the pungent aroma of engines burning oil.

I remember panic over the Ford Pinto's involvement in fiery crashes, and I was born the year Ralph Nader's book vilified the Chevrolet Corvair. In college, I needed an extension cord and blow dryer under the hood to start my Ford Escort.

Those problems are a distant memory, but many Americans can't forgive Detroit's past failures. That's too bad, because vehicles are far better and safer than they were.

Letting go of the past and its lofty expectations can be liberating for the auto industry and all of America.

Despite political rhetoric, America is not the greatest nation in many respects, nor does it have the smartest students, safest streets, finest health care or best environmental track record.

America is imperfect. It's been that way since pilgrims arrived and as generations overcame locusts, fires and droughts.

In this shrinking world, jingoistic claims to be the best at something ring hollow. America would be better served to embrace the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, the art of finding beauty in imperfection and accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay and death.

The auto industry was born in Motown, but it is global now. Let's accept this reality and move on. The solutions to the industry's nagging problems lie ahead, not in the past. If Detroit reinvents itself, a new legacy will be born.

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