ricardo7 Loc: Washington, DC - Santiago, Chile

http://www.loeildelaphotographie.com/en/2017/03/28/article/159944119/emmanuel-georges-america-rewind/

Having recently traveled From the deserts of Southern California to Chicago I can relate to the pictures Georges produced
even though he was in different locations. The sense of despair is palpable. It makes me wonder if America's best
days are behind us.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

I understand your reaction and the reaction of numerous others. Hopefully that is not the case. /Ralph

Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

No - our best days are not behind us -
You can go to any country in the world and travel the back roads and find abandon buildings, towns, villages with decay all around and say - this country is dying... Economies shift, people move, advances are made in other areas, and a country grows. There are a lot of areas that could be improved everywhere in this world but to focus on the past and make assumptions is not the way to go about it.

ricardo7 Loc: Washington, DC - Santiago, Chile

I applaud your optimism and hope you are right. But, I think you have to admit, a lot of people are being left behind.

Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

Unfortunately I cannot argue that point but history shows that segments of the populaces have been left behind in every civilization - part of the ugly side of nature and survival...

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

I agree. It seems the author/photographer photographed those items that supported his thesis rather than look for the self-regeneration taking place across the country.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

If one takes the theme of the photographer's project, the subjects are quite fitting. As pointed out in previous posts, things change. In that change, people move, areas get abandoned or become sparsely populated. In keeping with that theme, those would be the areas to search out and photograph.
--Bob

d2b2 Loc: Catonsville, Maryland, USA

I would not say that the best days are behind us. The photos - at least to me - demonstrate more a case of contraction, from the sprawling areas of the Country, into more highly concentrated urban locations. Moreover, even in the cities, we have an irritating habit of tearing up green areas and building there, rather than knocking down and redeveloping some of the buildings that you see, that are decaying and empty. If we are going to provide developers with tax relief, let them have discounts for redeveloping some of those abandoned properties.

ricardo7 Loc: Washington, DC - Santiago, Chile

There is always going to be some bias in undertaking such a project. And, to an extent, that's alright.
It's obvious that Robert Frank was less than objective when he produced "The Americans" and that
work is considered one of the most important of twentieth century photography.

Kuzano

And a lot of people are not motivated, or they are lazy. Also a lot of people suffer from great feelings of entitlement. A lot of people suffer from addictions to all sorts of bad habits.

These people are the problem and are getting left behind due to their own shortcomings.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

Boy-O-Boy could be ever get into some philosophical discussions here. Man is learning how to produce more with less manpower. Production, that which is left in this country(USA), is being concentrated into regional centers. Transportation has facilitated this migration of production. People follow jobs. When an area reaches a low threshold, then there is no one to purchase the buildings for sale, there is no reason to rehab something that will still sit empty. And we as a nation contribute to this by allowing companies to pit one area against another for tax breaks before they even consider locating in an area.

Some areas are being redeveloped. Detroit will come back, but not as an automobile manufacturing hub. Run down areas of many larger cities are finding new life as old manufacturing facilities are turned into urban (not suburban) housing as the younger Americans choose to live in cities and enjoy their amenities (IMHO because they have never known the peace of country living).

We could go on and on. We regenerate just like some geckos can regrow their tail.

More on topic; I dare say that I could go to France and bring back hoards of images of the decaying and overcrowded developments around the margins of Paris where the Muslims and Chinese and other ethnic minorities have been shoved. But to present this as an overview of France would do the country an injustice.

Kuzano

One of the ways to see part of what you mention is to look at countries and area's of countries that take products out of the system, which produces more need for replacement. England and parts of Europe have MOT inspections (vehicles) in which they take vehicle off the road that exhibit rust. You won't find old cars in those countries because rust is rampant and the cars are considered unsafe... therefore taken off the road. 10 and 15 year old cars are almost impossible to find on the road. Therefore they have to be replaced.

I understand that in Japan, the engines on automobiles must be replaced at 35,000 to 40,000 miles. They are considered hazards to pollution and structural integrity. A thriving industry looms in the US, when these engines are transported to the US and used to repair Japanese cars in the US. There are a couple of shops (one just new) in our town that employ half a dozen workers each in this fashion.

As you said.. philosophical and/or real solutions.. who knows?

My point was more on the order of jobs that some people just won't take, or do, because immigrants will do them, both better and for less money.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

When I was stationed there the rule for Japanese drivers was that all repairs had to be performed with new (not used or rebuilt) parts. I don't know about the engines, but it would not surprise me.