Auchtoon!

As you may have gathered, I’m not a “make America great again” kind of person. It’s not that I don’t think America is great. (It is — especially the concept of it.) It’s just that I don’t think America has been a substantially better country at any given time in its history than it is now.

If we’re honest, we tend to paint the supposed good times with broad brush stokes that cover over those who were having a bad time. Nostalgia, rose-colored glasses, call it what you want.

Nevertheless, I can unabashedly say that I think our country was in a much better place 30 to 60 years ago when nearly everybody read a daily newspaper and was availed to network news broadcasts that had journalistic guardrails. There was a baseline level of knowing what was going on that was generally shared by everybody. It wasn’t perfect. It provided limited options. And, horrors, it could be considered not very entertaining. But the net effect was an at least somewhat informed electorate.

I’m not suggesting that we should try to go back — most obviously because we can’t. The newspaper business model has been thoroughly eviscerated and technology has nearly left network news in the dustbin of history. But it would be helpful if we could find another way to get to that baseline level of shared knowledge.

The latest mass shooting here in Michigan (at least, the latest one that made the news) took place at a splash pad in Rochester Hills last Saturday. Nine people were injured, including two children. The shooter was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Michigan recently has made some progress in passing legislation and implementing programs designed to reduce gun violence. They represent positive, sensible efforts toward treating the disease. Certainly not a cure-all for what has been a uniquely intractable problem for us Americans, but at least attempting to mitigate unnecessary deaths and injuries.

However, a few days later the U.S. Supreme Court managed to again demonstrate just how intractable the problem is with a tortured, hair-splitting ruling on what exactly a machine gun is, which overturned a ban on bump stocks.

Look, the grim reaper and gun violence are in lockstep on this. They aren’t going to break up on their own. That’s our responsibility — with “our” very much including elected and appointed officials.

Happy Flag Day, fellow Americans! Enjoy flying Old Glory, but remember to do it properly (not upside-down). Unless of course you are at sea and in distress. Or trying to prove a point to your neighbor. In that case, you may want to check with your spouse first (especially if they happen to be a Supreme Court justice).

Speaking of at sea, if you are demonstrating your fealty, er, patriotism in the boat parade on the Detroit River this weekend, please keep in mind that your fellow Americans do not have to embrace every flag you fly. Just like you do not have to embrace certain flags. Listening is encouraged. Discussions can be helpful. And, as always, stealing of flags is right out.

Now get out there and enjoy your freedom of speech and expression! (Responsibly, please.)

Americans, particularly us Midwesterners, sure love a redemption story. And the Michigan Central Station is a good one.

As the passenger rail station for Detroit, it opened in 1913 and was a magnificent doorway into the industrial boomtown. But as Detroit peaked, so did rail travel, and eventually in 1988 service to the depot ceased and quickly fell into disuse and decline.

The 13-story structure in the Corktown neighborhood easily dominated the views of the surrounding areas, and as weather and scrappers decimated the structure, it became a quintessential example of “ruin porn” (or the more benign, “ruins photography”).

By 2011, efforts were being made to at least slow the decay. But it wasn’t till 2018 when the Ford Motor Company purchased it that the real restoration began. And now this week, it has been officially reopened as office space for Ford and Ford suppliers, with the potential to support the return of rail travel.

See? Every once in a while, I can focus on the positive!