Lack of Vision and Leadership in Jacksonville,Florida

I was downtown last week to pay real estate taxes, so I went on a short,and rare curiosity drive to see all the new improvements I've been reading about lately.Namely the new courthouse,new small eateries, new businesses,anything that was "new". What I saw was depressing,embarrassing, and disappointing.

The courthouse is a monstrosity that is prohibitive for handicapped people to even get to. I hope I don't ever  have to actually go there.I couldn't find a parking place to even walk over and go inside to take a look.

Hemming Park was a frightening place with desperate looking people. Weathered faces slept on park benches, while others used the trees and plants as toilets.Groups of people in ragged clothes circled up to chat,smoke,and look at minority women as they passed and continuously circled the park.Two young men played checkers,and  two older men read under trees.Many talked on cell phones,and a few rationalized with thin air as their arms sliced through the void in attempts to get their  points across to the "air monkeys". Many spoke aloud in strange voices.

There are other cities that look like this but they are either dying or have died long ago. Having traveled, lived abroad, and been to every state in our Union, I've always decided to stay in places with a vibrant downtown,innovative social atmosphere, and progressive political agenda for city growth. I was born and raised in Jacksonville,but don't encourage people to move here.Much of my family, and most of my friends live in other places.I always have hoped Jacksonville would grow up and become as vibrant as it was in the 1920's.
http://floridahistory.org/landboom.htm

Post Civil War, and post WWII Jacksonville was also prosperous times
http://www.vernonjohns.org/nonracists/jxpstciv.html

http://www.jaxhistory.com/Jacksonville%20Story/Jacksonville%20from%201945%20through%201975.htm

We seem to be treading water just enough to breathe,but not swim out of the muck to make lasting contributions that benefit, and contribute to growth with prosperity.Our leadership has no vision like  Flagler,Rockefeller,Stowe, and Vanderbilt.

http://www.jaxhistory.com/Jacksonville%20Story/Jacksonville%20from%201945%20through%201975.htm

History has a pattern that explains both what does and doesn't work.The last election drove home the fact,like it or not, that our country has changed,but it has always been in a constant state of change. Life is change. What Jacksonville has not done is to wrap progress and change together. I hate watching these failures,when it would be so easy to make Jacksonville prosperous again.