No Great Lakes Union!

As if I needed to be reminded of the anti-globalization seething just beneath the surface, not everyone is sold on the idea of a mega-regional think tank:

The hard truth is that the Midwest is never going to be truly competitive in the sort of extreme global market our unregulated, greedy economy is evolving toward. We are not globally fashionable, and no amount of selling, branding, marketing or lying will make us so. In this dire situation we are fortunate, however, for we will have to develop self-sufficient, localized economies long before our more advanced and innovative fellow Americans. The age of globalism is already showing signs of becoming the next dark ages as our culture and land become more and more polluted with the crap we generate daily.

If we Midwesterners are in need of wisdom (and who isn’t?), let us look not to our political, academic and corporate leaders. Let us listen, instead, to those who love the land, who work for themselves, who work for their neighbors, who read and think slowly, who do the old, small things well, who give a damn and care. Why should we abandon what remains of our sustaining agrarian heritage for the corrupt fantasies of the rich and powerful?

The above is another way of going about the business of improving the Midwest. Alternatives should be welcome, but the use of stereotypes and stock caricatures is counterproductive. I'm certain that Richard Longworth gives a damn. There will always be a question of motives. And globalization will continue to churn.