I would agree, but such solutions can't come from the people themselves, because they have too many other things to worry about, like simply trying to stay alive. It has to come from someone who has the resources along with the creativity to make it happen. Whether that comes from government or the private sector is irrelevant, but to blame the individuals for not caring when they have far bigger problems is not the right solution.
I spent the majority of my first 22 years of life growing up in a neighborhood that was 95% black. So trust me when I tell you that most poor people in America are poor because they are fools. They constantly make choices that perpetuate their poverty and it carries over into the appearance of their homes (and thus their neighborhoods).
We had no more money than anyone else on our block. But we made sure the grass in our yard was cut and our trees and shrubs were trimmed. We refused government help because we understood it would make us dependent. We instead invested in ourselves and made choices to better ourselves. And now my whole family (my parents, my three bothers, and myself) are out of poverty.
I also have grown up in a very poor area. We don't have the violence that is seen in the cities, and almost everyone here is white, but I can tell you for a fact that while we do have some of the problems you have seen, most people simply cannot get ahead because they cannot get good quality jobs, and they can't afford to move to someplace where they can get one.
I completely agree that government needs to enfoce regulations on lawn mowing and the like, and take a more active role in urban revitalization.
I completely agree with you on personal responsibility. People have to take responsibility for their lives, and their own actions.
However, that is often not enough. There are often not jobs available for people to get that they are qualified for. In order to get qualified, they have to go to college. This costs money, and also requires time to be able to attend classes, which these people often do not have an abundance of due to having to work long hours simply to make ends almost meet.
In addition, if they had a poor childhood, they may not have been equipped with the ability to take full advantage of their childhood. Yes, ultimately the answer is good parenting. But in the meantime, we have to do something for those people who aren't fortunate enough to have good parents, or else we can't break out of the cycle.
Your neighborhood is not at all necesarily representative of all of America, by any means. Most black people and poor people in general that I have dealt with have been extremely hard working, knowledgeable indivduals, but there are simply not the jobs nor the education availble to them to allow them to get ahead.
We can't help the poor get ahead by simply assuming that they must be lazy if they can't make it. If we continue to turn our backs on them and refuse to give a helping hand for those who are responsible enough to be able to utilize it effectively, we won't turn around these neighborhoods. Instead of playing off of racial divisiveness, people of both sides of the racial divide need to set it aside and focus on what they can do to make these neighborhoods better.
