Like Detroit's long, slow slide toward financial insolvency, the demise of the Byzantine Empire -- also known as the Eastern Roman Empire -- didn't happen overnight. It took years of self-delusion and the indifference of potential allies to cause that great society to collapse.

Even after the empire was reduced to little more than a city state, its leaders refused to believe things had to change. The emperor retained his imperial trappings and the schemers in the court continued playing games. The problem of how to defeat the Ottoman Turks and keep the whole society afloat was talked about, but never decisively confronted.

Meanwhile, Western Europe -- which depended on the walls of Constantinople to keep the Ottomans at bay -- seemed more interested in punishing Byzantium for its Eastern Orthodox heresy than facing the shared enemy. Even when Constantinople fell under siege by Mehmed II, the West made reunification with the Roman church a precondition for sending troops and ships. In 1453, Constantinople fell and Christendom lost its eastern flank. Eventually, the Turks expanded deeply into Europe.

The situation in Detroit isn't exactly like that. Nobody expects the Canadians to cross the Detroit River and sack the place. But, like old Constantinople, Detroit faces a crisis it is unable to tackle alone -- a calamity with the potential to drag a lot of others down with it. And like the bunglers of 1453, our leaders seem unwilling to unite against the common threat.

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