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Remember the Grimm's fairy tales and the Mother Goose stories? A couple of them remind me of the predicament we find ourselves in here in Niagara Falls.
As the story goes, the beautiful Sleeping Beauty was cast into a deep sleep set to last 100 years, but a valiant prince, not fearing the consequences of defying the curse, awoke her with a kiss. In another fairy tale, a beautiful young maiden was convinced that if she kissed an ugly frog, it would turn into a handsome prince and they would live happily together ever after.
Well, once upon a time, 30 years ago, the City of Niagara Falls went into a deep, deep sleep. A terrible spell was cast on us by a coven of wicked giants who promised that they would take good care of us and make us all happy if we let them have complete control of our most important treasures for 30 long years. All we had to do was go to sleep and when we awoke, they promised, everything would be beautiful. We would have steady jobs and homes and our children would be safe in their schools. Our city would be known all over the world as a true wonder and people would come from every corner of the globe to visit us and bring us good tidings. Our people would be prosperous and we would all live happily ever after.
Being the powerful, trustworthy giants that they were, we believed them and we let them have their way. They smiled, they kissed us, tucked us in and said goodnight, and then they tiptoed away. Feeling safe and secure, most of us just fell asleep believing that we were in good hands. Quietly, one by one, the people began to nod off. For miles around, from one end of the kingdom to the other, the people fell into a soothing slumber, and then into a deep, deep sleep. Our heads were filled with images of contentment as we danced and frolicked in our dreams, not wanting ever to wake up from the terrible spell.
But not everyone was sleeping. Some people began to notice that something was terribly wrong, that our treasures were being looted, that we were being tricked by the evil giants.
Try as they might to stir us, we could not wake up. So powerful was the curse that none of the shouting and screaming and protestations of the valiant people could be heard. The spell had been cast over all the land, running its course to City Hall, the county Legislature, all the way to the state capitol. Even the governors and all their men had been smitten by the curse of the giants. And so most of us slept for 30 years, unaware of what was happening to our precious treasures.
Then one day, as the curse was growing weaker, before it could be recast for 99 more years, the people began to wake up. They began to hear the voices of the valiant ones. They rubbed their eyes and shrieked in horror as they realized what was happening. There in their midst stood the giants again, this time with another magic potion, hovering over the people with more empty promises. This time they listened to the voices of the protesters who insisted that they not be fooled again.
In the fairy tale, the Sleeping Beauty eventually awakens, though not to a perfect world, the enchantment gone, as reality quickly replaces the dream. So, too, in Niagara Falls, as we begin to awaken from the long slumber, we must face the hard reality of the work that lies ahead.
Some local businessmen have been complaining for at least 30 years that our treasures were being wasted away, not developed to their potential. Among our most prized possessions, says John Prozeralik, is our airport, which he calls the key to bringing the city back to economic stability. He says it is almost ludicrous that a jewel like the Niagara Falls airport has been allowed to sit almost completely dormant for nearly 30 years. He says the airport could be bringing in thousands of passengers every day if it were run right. Those thousands of passengers would flock to Niagara Falls from all over the world if the city were properly promoted in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Businessman James Sim Chin Hong, now in Niagara Falls from Singapore, agrees with Prozeralik. He says the people of Niagara Falls are missing out on a golden opportunity.
"People from all over the world would come here if you invite them," he says. "Americans are seen as the champions of democracy all over the world. But you are not practicing it here if you do not listen to the will of the people to take control of their own destiny by taking control of their own treasures."
What would we do with our treasures if we could control them ourselves?
Prozeralik says, "Just look across the border at what they did in five years. They make us look like we are 100 years behind."