Whom do we desire to be?

Samuel Huntington, a retired political scientist and active firebrand, kindled controversy in 2004 with the release of his book, “Who Are We? The Challenge to America’s National Identity.” In the text, he argues that national salience – the quality of Americans perceiving their country as conspicuous from others in its sense of being – is threatened by the unfettered influx of immigrants and their cultures. Whatever one makes of Huntington’s premises, the South is acquainted with the scenario, known during reconstruction as carpet-bagging. That trend has not abated, and so Huntington’s question persists.
It is one of particular intrigue in juxtaposition with a question we are posing as part of the River City 2020 vision forum we introduced last week: Where is Waynesboro bound? The city’s geography, nestled against the Blue Ridge Mountains amid the natural splendor of the mystical Shenandoah Valley, is an asset we have trumpeted and others have noticed, having migrated here from points flung across the map. An editorial writer born in Atlanta and raised in Pittsburgh is part of this group.
The product of blended cultures, whether stewed in geography or ideology, frequently is the loss of uniqueness or what Huntington describes as salience. This becomes acutely problematic when it translates to a want of appreciation for the community and its heritage. Disinterest in such things is endemic in America, among natives and newcomers alike.
In Waynesboro’s case, another trend lurks, and it’s one that bodes well or ill depending on how the people of our city respond. The city is rapidly aging. As The News Virginian recently reported, Waynesboro’s share of people 65 or older is expected to reach 39.1 percent by 2010, the highest percentage in the state, according to Virginia Employment Commission statistics. By 2030, the percentage is expected to be 44 percent.
How the city responds to this development is critical to the place Waynesboro becomes. Natives and newcomers, who agree on little, frequently agree on their desire for the city to remain in its current state, that of the quintessential sleepy Southern town. But let all be advised: Waynesboro will not remain in its current state, indeed it cannot. A transformation soon will begin to unfold here, either to sharp decline or new prosperity.
The former is the inevitable product of a sharply eroded population of young workers. Without them, the city’s tax base will crumble and the city itself will deteriorate. Circumventing that occurrence will require the cultivation of a stable and diverse economy. Retailers in the West End will continue to lure shoppers but not workers who pump economic life into the city. Absent a strengthened stable of manufacturing and service businesses, Waynesboro could stand on the precipice of a deep slide.
We recognize and appreciate the desire of many to see Waynesboro retain its subtler attributes as a haven of serenity in the Valley. But it is incorrect to presume that doing nothing will prevent change. Preserving Waynesboro as now it is known necessitates action.
So we pose a question, altered slightly from Huntington’s: Whom do we wish to become as a community? Ancillary to this: How should Waynesboro seek to develop its economy in anticipation of the city’s population turning grayer? Which business sectors should the city target in the effort to provide attractive jobs and bolster its economic base?
Send your answers to Editor & General Manager R. Lee Wolverton at with the subject line “River City 2020” or snail-mail him at The News Virginian, P.O. Box 1020, Waynesboro, VA 22980. Please be sure to include your name, hometown and daytime phone number.