Pittsburgh was selected to host the G-20 summit last May. This may seem a strange choice, since many people still think of Pittsburgh as an acid rain infested city, troubled by a dying steel culture and decaying industries fleeing to better tax exempt offers. That may have been true in the 80's, but Pittsburgh is knee deep in redesigning itself into a world class intellectual and manufacturing marketplace.
Robert Gibbs, the presidents mouthpiece, had this to say about Pittsburgh, "Pittsburgh today serves as a model for economic and environmental transformation in the United States and abroad. The city has reinvented itself by building a balanced, innovation-driven economy based on its strengths in advanced manufacturing, financial services, information and communications technologies, health care and life sciences, education and research, and energy and environmental solutions."
What the world will see when the news crews and the reporters flock to the city later this month is a city that is beautiful, charming and not just a little bit racist. If you happen to check public comment boards in the city there is ample use of the N word. If you look at divisions in various neighborhoods many are broken up by race and income, which is not unusual in American Cities. I lived for many years in Seattle and you ca not honestly say there is not a serious racial divide in that liberal wasteland.
So, as the world prepares to come to Pittsburgh to talk economics, let us all remember than no city is pure when it comes to race. No city is clean when it comes to environmental pollution and certainly no city is perfect as we all try to move forward in what is an unpredictable time.
Pittsburgh is certain to represent America to the world, warts and all.
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