Detroit as a metaphor

Think about a city like Detroit, a place many Americans assumed died, was dying, is in the process of dying, or is already dead. List all the things that "went wrong" in Detroit: the decline of the automotive industry, decline of schools, racial change and violence, welfare, the gap between rich and poor, out sourcing of jobs, rapid suburbanization at the expense of the city, labor issues, etc., etc., etc. And then look over your list and come to the startling realization that every point on your list applies equally to the United States as it does to Detroit. We are Detroit. And it hurts a lot less to assign those negative traits to the Motor City, to keep on our blinders, to look the other way, than to look in the mirror, face reality, and see we really are becoming the very same thing that we ridiculously mock.>