Bend or Break: Buffalo's status

In the immortal words of State Sen. Clayton ‘Clay' Davis: "S***!"

That about sums up the situation Buffalo and her erstwhile politicians find themselves in these days. As I am sure everyone has heard by now, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown has been accused of racketeering and corruption in legal papers filed in federal court.

Of course, this is America, and the Mayor has the privilege of being innocent until being proven guilty. Indeed, he has said he relishes the opportunity to show he was free of any wrongdoing in court. However, this isn't the first time the Mayor's — "discretion" — has been called in to account (1 Sunset, anyone?).

Regardless of whether he is guilty or not, there will be much chest thumping from his opponents and supporters alike. But, you know what? I don't really give a damn, because I know Brown is merely a symptom of the problem facing Buffalo.

So what is the problem? Complacency. Apathy. Disillusion. And above all, the cold, hard fact that the baby boomers and the early Generation Xs have mutilated this country's political fabric, caused millions of Americans to lose faith in all forms of government, and essentially caused my generation, the so-called Millennial Generation, to be sucked into the outer edges of a political and economic black hole. We will have to struggle mightily against all this if we are to ever have a hope of raising this country back to the awe inspiring greatness we know it can possess.

But hold, you say! Aren't these problems facing the country rather than the city? Nay, I say, nay. The country's problems are the City's. Allow me to explain:

Complacencyand Apathy. What's that? Oh, just another campaign ad. Everything I need to know about the candidate will be displayed in this awesome, vile, 30-second clip. This is what democracy in this city/country has been reduced to. Citizens don't take ownership of their own political lives. And then they wonder why their elected officials are embroiled in scandal after scandal after scandal. Why? They know you — and they know you aren't paying attention.

Disillusionment. The inevitable by-product of the above mentioned. Politicians obsessed with the next election cycle breed this like a pond breeds scum.

But now, here's the kicker — the generational problem. This is the big one, the one that will see this city rise or fall. For too long we Millennials have taken the backseat in politics, letting the elderly and the almost-elderly dictate the political discussion.

This city is prime real estate. We are halfway between two thriving metropolises, Chicago and New York City. We are the closest American city to the NYC of the North, Toronto. We have a gorgeous waterfront, easily the equal of Baltimore's. We have an ethnically diverse population.

But what are our politicians doing with their time? Begging HSBC to stay in their tower downtown and pinning for Bass Pro to come back.

No energy. No raw, visceral need to make Buffalo the equal of Atlanta, or NYC, or Los Angeles, which are the three American cities gaining young people, in droves, who are attracted by the job market and nightlife offered by those cities.

Take a walk through the downtown areas of those cities. You see hordes of young professionals working hard and playing hard. Take a stroll in downtown Buffalo, and what do you see? Some homeless people and a copy of "The Buffalo News" drifting on the wind.

Why accept this, young adult reading this article? Face it: There aren't any Mark Zuckerberg-types among the politicians of this city. They are doing what they have always done, and we are going to get what we have always gotten.

But it need not be this way. We have a chance, just one chance, to do right for this city. I'm talking about next election. There is a cadre of young people in the colleges of this town that have ideas. They have energy, motivation and the drive to make Buffalo the next Atlanta or NYC.

This group of Millennials needs to stand up and make themselves heard. And I'm not talking about some useless internship. I'm talking about these young professionals running for public office. Unless we act now, Millennials, it's game over. When we are our parents' age, Buffalo will be Detroit. Perhaps even less than Detroit. And we will rue the day we didn't stand up and seize the reins, but rather let others decide our future.

Make no mistake, the career politicians and insiders that infest City Hall won't go quietly. But their time has passed, and it's our future that's on the line, not theirs.

Matt Hoenes can be reached by email at hoenes.record@live.com.