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| - Stolen words sometimes work best when you're stuck for a beginning. So thank you Rehner Banham:
"Visually Las Vegas is the triumph of human skill over great odds, all probability and moral law."
When I first read that deft sentence, the little voice in my head screamed, "Yes." I started every tour I led at the Neon Museum with that tidbit. Banham may have been addressing the explosion of neon and steel, but this thought parallels the reason I love Las Vegas: the sheer humanity puts a Randian grin on my face, and I am not talking about lack of taxes. (I share an alma mater with a Clinton, so I bleed liberal.) I have never thought Ayn just wanted to save money. She wanted us to celebrate mankind, and for better or worse, Vegas has, Vegas does and Vegas always will. Vegas is not bigger than the little guy. The littlest guy in Vegas is like the proverbial flutter of a butterfly wing.
What do I mean? Vegas defies reason. There is little reason we should be kicking it in this desert. Unlike other cities, we did not grow thanks to a warm water port or fertile land. Existence here is no thanks to a natural bounty. The bounty, however meager or strong, is here thanks to the endeavors, pursuits and dreams of men and women. That enthralls me. From the train to the dam to the bomb to casinos and so on, humanity has carried Vegas for better or worse. We blow buildings up because Vegas is energy and facades can't contain that.
I am not saying Vegas is pretty, but complexity never is, and guess what, neither is simplicity. It's easy to see Vegas as a disgusting warehouse of tired fantasies, but when you decide you don't want to be rich or beautiful, to travel to exotic places... then, you can cast your stones. Saddling up on your ivory horse and passing judgment on whatever people choose to experience here is an imperialism of dangerous roots. To pretend you know something the rest of us don't is a thinly veiled attempt to feel intellectual.
Away from the philosophy of it all, I simply love this city. I love the library system. I love boba and foot massages at 2am. I love shopping at midnight. I love the weather. I love the ease of driving and parking. (NYC never sold me on public transportation.) I love the small town feel with the big town amenities. I love Spring Mountain Road. I love no hurricanes. I love the airport. I love neon.
Oh, and to those who think that the "no culture" line demonstrates your learned pedigree, whether you like it or not Vegas is so thick with American culture that you could almost cut it and serve it on a hot dog bun. In fact, I am pretty sure that is what they're doing down on Fremont. Did I hear you scoff? Have you read "Learning from Las Vegas?" Did I see you at Off the Strip? Have you checked out the Kahlo exhibit at Barrick? What about Neon Reverb? Have you toured the Neon Museum? Celebrated Day of the Dead at Winchester? Attended a performance by the Contemporary Dance Theater? Have you tried the cuisine of Spring Mountain Road? Talk is cheap, and I personally know two people who moved to Vegas and within less than a year created something impactful: Neon Reverb and the Las Vegas Halloween Parade. If you can't appreciate what is offered or create the change you want to see (which is so simple to do here), then take Mr. Jackson's advice and talk to that person in the mirror.
In conclusion, our rockabillies could kick any city's hipsters' butts, and in case you didn't notice, we didn't elect Sharon Angle. However, someone has been known to elect Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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