Today an article by Jake Hodesh ran in Savannah Morning News regarding some residents resisting change. I absolutely love Savannah and love living here, aesthetically and in terms of the walkability, livability and things to do. However, this article highlights what is one of the biggest problems with Savannah: not embracing the future (or willingness to "decode the future," as was the theme of TedxCC).
Hodesh writes, "In the room on Friday, these ideas—activist public art projects, female-power entrepreneurship, environmentally-sensitive historical preservationist development—would have been praised as progress. Outside though, these issues have been criticized and led to public battles that have—and are—consuming precious resources."
Some people seem to define "embracing the future" as meaning "erasing the past" and that's just not true. Preserving Savannah's history and traditions is essential to its identity. But Hodesh's inspirational article shows that the past and future could live harmoniously in the present if we as a city could put aside our individual grievances and petty arguments. This means putting Savannah first when it comes to community and progressive issues, not ourselves and our own wants. We should all want to brand Savannah as a place that honors both the past and innovation, creativity and tradition, forward-thinking and learning from our mistakes. Hodesh' article is a call to action, urging Savannahians to ask ourselves "what's best for the city?" instead of "what's best for me?" before we complain too loudly or protest too much.
Savannah has made some great strides as the article points out; let's not slide backwards before we've even really begun to capitalize on the recent momentum. We can make Savannah a place that not only ranks high on a variety of tourism lists visit but also attracts new businesses, innovators and creatives to make Savannah their home indefinitely.
