nfscd # 7 ~ Sodom and Gomorrah of 21st century America
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Shattered hopes and dreams * click to embiggendecay # 14 drew a reply from James that, distilled to its essence, said "... Vegas disgusts me. It is, in my opinion, the ultimate example of, to quote Mark, 'dumping all over' America and squandering our resources." If you haven't read my entry, you might want to give it a glance in order to understand why James thought his Vegas anecdote was relevant to the discussion at hand. IMO, it was appropriate.
However, The Landscapist's ever vigilant fact-checker (the guy who lets me get away with nothing), Paul Maxim, disagrees. He opined that; "Sorry, I don't get it. Las Vegas is no worse than most American cities and better than many of them. Is that good enough? Probably not. But to paint this city as the Sodom and Gomorrah of 21st century America is as ludicrous as it is uninformed."
Ok. It seems that we all (me, Paul and James) agree re: Las Vegas - "Las Vegas is no worse than most American cities and better than many of them. Is that good enough? Probably not." But, IMO, Paul's defense of Las Vegas is a bit of damning with faint praise. I, personally, have never considered the phrase "not good enough" to be a positive endorsement of anything that I might be doing.
However, I don't wish quibble over that particular point. I'm more interested in the notion of considering Las Vegas is as "the Sodom and Gomorrah of 21st century America" and I think there is a very good case for thinking of it as such. Why? The manner and message of how the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau (or some such other tourism promotion agency) wants us to think about the place.
All tourism promotion entities are forever trying to come up with the tag line or phrase that most memorably places a mental picture of the place in the perspective tourist's mind. Las Vegas has landed upon the tag line, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". IMO, you would have to be naive or an idiot to think that what they are suggesting by "what happens in Vegas" is about double parking or jaywalking.
What it suggests to me is activities involving sex, drinking, drugs, gambling, and excessive indulgences that, after you arrive back home, you are not going to brag about (or even discuss) to your wife, your kids, your mother, your priest, or another 'upstanding' citizen of your community. This is not to suggest that some, maybe even most, don't go to Vegas just to have some good clean fun but then, when you think about it, why would they care whether or not what they did in Vegas, stays in Vegas?
IMO, I think that a very good case can be made for considering Las Vegas to be "the Sodom and Gomorrah of 21st century America" if for no other reason than that's how the LVCVB wants us to think about it.
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note to Paul: No bourbon was consumed nor animals harmed in the making of this entry or the accompanying picture. Although, since the pictured footwear is made of synthetics and are made in China, one could logically assume that someone or something was or is being harmed. But, of course, that's just a part of the shattered hopes and dreams.