"Taking Pride In..."

When I heard about the tragic shooting that happened in my own town, I realized how upset the people of this city make me. The City Council is in need of a serious makeover, the job market is in the dumps, younger people are dying everyday, and the school system is one of the worst in the country. How long does all this have to go on before the people of Detroit realize that changes need to be made, and unfortunately most of it is only going to happen without any governmental assistance.

Recently I was listening to Michael Jackson's Man In the Mirror and began to reflect on alot of the issues that take place here in the city of Detroit. People always complain about the high crime rates, the job district, the school system, the City Council, etc. But the truth of the matter is that many of those issues exist because of the lack of pride that the city people have for its city. As I got older and saw my own hometown deteriorating before my eyes, I realized that most of this stuff starts at home. It seems that people that complain about situations the most are the ones that are doing to least to improve things. I always hear people complain about how the suburbs looks better and has better ammenities than the inner city. But those same people never ask themselves if what they are doing is the reason why the city is the way it is. They never ask themselves if the level of pride they take in their city is what makes the city the way it is.

The fact of the matter is that a community is only as good as the people that live in it. If the people in the community do not take pride in their homes, then the community will become a disgusting place to inhabit. If you see trash on the ground, pick it up. If you see a helpless person, help them. If you see the school system failing, use other resources to help educate your children. It's like M.J. said in his song, "If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself and make a....CHANGE!!!" Maybe that message was more than a song at all. It's a lesson on how to take pride in whatever you have.