We need to stop gridlock to save Michigan

I am saddened by the decline of Michigan.

I’ve already lost several close friends to other states, and while we stay in touch, it’s never the same with the distance between us.

Now I am sad that my stepdaughter and son-in-law are considering moving out of Michigan. My wife and I love both of them dearly, and we understand their reasons for looking outside Michigan for better jobs, careers and lifestyle.





But while we understand their reasons for looking outside Michigan, it’s still so very hard to cope with the breaking up of families for the wrong reasons. It seems that during the hard times, we should all stick together.

I’ve always respected humans because we’re hunter-gatherers, not flight animals. Yet we’ve got too many people in Michigan running from our problems, rather than staying here to fight for our communities.

Instead of fleeing the state, we’d be much better off, and leave a much-richer legacy for our grandchildren, if we work hard to make Michigan a state in which everyone can succeed and live well. We’ve got so much going for us here, like the Great Lakes, the state’s natural beauty, Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and successful cities like Ann Arbor.

But before we can put our assets to work for us, we need to stop all the negativity that has become our standard way of dealing with things these days.

I truly believe the old adage that what the mind can see and believe, it can achieve; that if you act the part long enough, you become the part.
We need to stop all the bickering, negativity and trash-talking about Michigan. Instead, we should be working hard to develop the kind of economy and lifestyle that gives peopled incentive to remain with Michigan, not drives them to other states.

We need to work on mass transit and infrastructure repair. We also need some strong, visionary leadership.

Maybe we can build something with our children who don’t want to leave. Maybe we can keep our families together. In so doing, we can perhaps create jobs and the kind of lifestyle that will allow us to compete on the world market once again.

In short, we need to improve what we have, not run away from it.

I hope and pray that regardless of who is in power, we all realize that we’re not political parties — we are one state. We need to build esprit de corps. We need to be respectful of each other. We also need some big ideas and a game plan.

Things are tough here in Michigan, and it’s time for all of us to come together to develop a comprehensive plan to save our state.

We need to elect officials with open minds. It’s not about right or wrong, it’s about trying something. It’s about working together. With cooperation, we can get so much done.

I am an eternal optimist. After the November elections, I hope that out of common decency, our politicians will work to stop this gridlock and get down to the Main Street way of solving our problems.