Too many people have been to the US and seen the country physically. Much of it is pretty good, but some parts of it, particularly urban areas and Indian reservations, are just horrible. I’ve been in a lot of both kinds of places. Most Americans haven’t seen most of their country. They are afraid to go to the really bad parts.
The Shrinking City of Detroit
The Growing City of Calgary
When I was born, Detroit had 10 times the population of the City of Calgary, where I spent most of my career. Detroit has been shrinking while Calgary has been growing. Now Detroit has half the population of Calgary. Detroit has had 129 murders this year, Calgary has had 29.
The Slums of Chicago.
The Slums of Toronto. This is what they look like now.
Toronto doesn’t have any slums any more because they eliminated them. Toronto is now as big as Chicago.
Canada has three major cities among the top 10 in the Economist list of most livable cities in the world. Honolulu was the top ranked US city at 22. Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Washington, DC were in the top 40. New York ranked 48.
Indian Reservation in US
Indian Reservation in Canada
Okay, the last is a little misleading because most First Nations Tribes don’t have a giant reserve on the edge of a rapidly growing major city like Calgary, but if they did have one, why wouldn’t they build a giant shopping mall?
The Tsuu T’ina Reserve is nearly as big as Calgary, and in addition to shopping malls, condominium complexes, suburban housing developments, and golf courses, has huge oil and gas deposits which the First Nations own.
Picture Source Wikipedia
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