Tennessee in Trouble: The Bullying of Nashville

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It’s Sunday morning… and I sound like a broken record—to myself.

Some days it feels like Nashville has been beaten to a pulp and had the juice squeezed out of it. Yes, Tennessee, particularly Nashville, is in trouble.

Over the last decade and a half (maybe more) the city has slowly lost its identity and sense of self-worth.

As if plagued by a deep seated unworthiness, we relinquished our will to hungry developers and corporations who gave little in exchange—empty promises.

Like an insecure middle schooler who desperately wants to be validated and popular, we forfeited our lunch money to bullies in hopes of being elevated. We offered up what was authentic and unique about ourselves for shiny tall buildings that reflected unbridled egos rather than our essence and we got accustomed to not seeing ourselves.

Case in point. Here we are with a brand new multi-billion dollar stadium sitting side by side another stadium built a couple decades ago by a billionaire owner who made a sweetheart deal (for him) then left town and stuck us with the check.

And that pattern of abusive behavior began long before a trillionaire made a back room deal with the now governor and the Tennessee Legislature to drill under our city for free (and without any consultation) sticking us with a $5 million a year bill for something that will serve an elite few, benefit a trillionaire while doing nothing to relieve the crippling traffic conditions plaguing our city.

Yes, Tennessee is in trouble.

We desperately need leadership at the highest levels (state and local)

With few candidates on the horizon poised to tackle the formidable and unprecedented challenges we are facing as a city and state, it is up to us.

We must now (collectively) become headhunters conducting a talent search to preserve what’s left of our soul.

And yes, I too have a Substack https://substack.com/home/post/p-190290781