Vegas and some other thoughts

This is a very informal commentary of some of my thoughts while I was in Las Vegas. **Disclaimer: I’m making some broad statements and arguments that are based off of first impressions and not deeply researched. **

I’m also not sure why I included a disclaimer as this is an informal blog… It’s probably the academic in me screaming to put some citations in here to make my point seem legitimate. It’s also the academic in me that’s telling me not to post this as it’s poorly written and does not have a clear theme and could argued much better. Funny how that is.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about contrast… like right and wrong, good and evil, suffering and joy, true and false. And with that I’ve come to some interesting ideas that I hadn’t ever really considered before or am very sure about now. I hope to follow this post with a clearer explanation of what I mean but that may prove difficult as I'm not really sure what I mean.  Anyway, I went to Vegas to present a study at a conference and I was with some truly great people and could’t have asked for a better experience. Except, it would have been better if I was 21. No, not so I could gamble, but simply for my pride’s sake because the running gag of the trip was how I was too young to be there and needed to be babysat. For the record, I am an adult.

Though slightly annoying at times, I was grateful for my older more experienced counterparts for being able to show me the really awesome parts of Vegas. While we exploring the strip, I was struck by the beauty of some of the structures there. The architecture of the casinos was truly incredible… as were the gardens, and the fountains, and the sculptures, and the food.  The Venetian, the Bellagio, Caesars: all costing billions of dollars to create and maintain. I found them breathtaking and was truly impressed by what man could create.  It was the epitome of commodified space. Everything created there was intended to make people feel a certain way. To make people feel as if they had no limits and like they could live life like a king or queen.  Every earthly pleasure could be provided. It’s obvious the problems that kind of promise would create but at the same time here was the fulfillment of the promise…. For some.  

While standing in some of the most expensive buildings I’ve ever been in and in awe of how much it must have took to create them, literally feet away from me were people who had no homes… People who had no place to stay at night. And lining the street were the “clickers” (named for the clicking sound they made to attract attention) handing out flyers of naked women offering their services. While at first I was disgusted by what they were promoting, it quickly became apparent that my first impression was false. It’s not that these people believed in prostitution and were promoting the trade as part of a sick obsession. It’s not that they were out to exploit people or to make money...  I mean someone somewhere was, but these were not them. It was they who were exploited. My best guess (and a pretty reasonable one) is that they were illegal immigrants and this was the only job they could get. And here they were, right in the shadow of some of the grandest buildings I’ve ever seen. In the shadow of people here to spend ridiculous sums of money to live the “high life”.

And it’s not only the homeless, it’s the waiters, it’s the street cleaners, it’s the card dealers, it’s the performers. Here, where the promise is perfection, the question is perfection for whom? And at what cost?  

I’m not going to lie… it sickened me... And presented me with a conflict.

Here I was, myself poor and in Vegas for educational purposes, looking to have a great time in the limited time I had. And I thought it was beautiful and I was – I am – impressed by what people can create. Yet, I can’t help but ask myself, is it ok to create when the price is this high? When the price is the lives and well-being of other people? Is it ok for me to support that?

Looking at the “wonders of the world” or some of the truly great pieces of art and architecture, this has been a long standing question… Great cathedrals, pyramids, castles, empires…  When were these things made? Many, if not all, were created in times of great inequality with a high cost from the lower classes. We admire these creations and hold them in high esteem and yet do not consider why and how they got there. Is the achievement of man-kind greatness or is it exploitation?

I realize I’m making some broad assumptions and that my argument could be researched and analyzed in a scholarly way. I realize there are many other factors that play a part in the phenomena I’m discussing. I realize that there are other reasons for such inequality. But to be fair, while the limos drive by and men in tuxes gamble away thousands, win big and buy expensive food, right outside the door there are those who have nothing.

Is that ok?