Letter From the Editor: Baltimore's Looming Identity Crisis

"Hidden gem."

It's a well-worn, comfortable phrase. Maybe too much so in the sense that overuse has perhaps eroded its effect. That's a shame, however, because at its core "hidden gem" has always been and remains a powerful notion. A notion that binds together discovery, possibility, and perseverance in a way few other ideas can.

It's a combination with which Baltimoreans are immediately familiar. This is a city of hidden gems, from Druid Hill Park to Attman's and a thousand other corners. More broadly, Baltimore itself is one of America's hidden gems. Locals are well acquainted with its charms (pun intended) but ask a random passerby in Lexington or Duluth about Baltimore and the response won't likely be a great one. For all of our progress as a city, you've still got to look to find us.

The same thing could be said of, say, Raleigh-Durham or Columbus or Pittsburgh. Like Baltimore these places have a lot going for them. Like Baltimore they don't rank for attention with places like DC or Philadelphia, let alone New York or Chicago.

There might not be anything at all wrong with that, but it raises an interesting question: what kind of city do we want to be?

Do we want to muscle our way onto the national stage or are we content hanging back in the shadows, putting our heads down, and letting others chase glory? Do we want to be the band that signs the major label deal or do we stick to our guns and stay indie? Are we Fugazi or are we Nirvana? Or some hybrid of the two?

The more we grow and the more we accomplish as a city the more pressing this issue will become. Progress breeds tension and factions will, inevitably, emerge. There will be those who think we should remain steadfast and those who will want to go bigger. The differing opinions about the upcoming Grand Prix? That's just a sample.

Of course, no one person makes the decision. Instead, consensus will emerge before most of us even notice it, and we will assume our evolved identity in a way that feels natural enough in hindsight.

The time to start having this conversation, then, is now. The time to start hashing it out, working through the pros and cons, and deciding where we stand as individuals and institutions is now. If we don't, we risk being nudged to the margins by those who count politics or business as their primary interest and who are thus unlikely to highly regard the best interests of the city as a whole.

These are exciting times in Baltimore, and the future looks bright. Before we get there we'd do well to invest in fortifying the base defense. One day, we'll need it.


Neal Shaffer is, among other things, the Managing Editor of Bmore Media


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