I think Nicholas cage had it good compared to what I experienced in Las Vegas. God, having never been there, with my ultra pessimistic and judgmental viewpoints, I imagined Vegas to be a town so wrapped up in its own debauchery and primal obsessions that neither it, nor its inhibitions, had any choice but to accept it and learn to deal with it. Well, I was wrong, dreadfully wrong. Las Vegas the town and its inhabitants not only turn a blind eye to the dehumanizing excesses which puts Vegas on the map, but they both actually exploit it to its fullest potential. My god! What American, what human, can be proud of this display? Now sure, I am certainly not perfect, and at times drink too much, eat too much, spend too much and fulfill many primal impulses, but I am never proud or happy to do so. (Not the next day anyway.) But in Vegas, not only is this bingeing allowed and accepted, but it is flamboyantly encouraged and strives to ensure guilt free mornings. My god!
I am an idealist, as pure a puritan as I can be. I enjoy the simple things in life, friends, family and solitary pursuits to enrich my mind. And although I realize the need for us as humans to swing to the other side and just go hog wild, my god, should we flaunt it so? Should we spend such money to do so? Should we be so fucking blatant about it? Should we be so damn proud of ourselves for creating an environment to do so?
And its amazing to hear the “ohh” ‘sand “aww”’s of the people staring spellbound and the artificial pyramid or the Luxor, the scale model of the Eiffel Tower, or the mock skyline of New York, New York. Are not the originals far superior in every way? This is such a blatant example that for most of the people in the world, its not the real thing that matters any more, it’s the virtual reality and virtual world that gets our eyes popping, our hearts racing, .and our money flowing. We do not want to see the world or its people the way it is, we want to see the world and its peoples as other people (i.e. resort owners, marketers, advertisers, etc) wish us to see it. We are faced with this facet of human existence every hour of every day, but for a diminishing few of us, we are aware and question this fake reality. In Vegas, fuck it! Let it ride!!
