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May 18, 2006
Kunstler and Carey Do Vegas
I was reading an article about James Kunstler and came across the following remark... Las Vegas is the holy shrine of a very pernicious religion—which is the religion of getting something for nothing; the religion of unearned riches—which is an idea that is extremely destructive and insidious and has now spread throughout our culture and has given people the idea that earnest efforts are not required to have good outcomes. This was by way of justifying his opinion that the town's death will be good for the country. To hell with that noise. It's just too easy to disapprove of Las Vegas. It's so easy that I normally wouldn't even bother repeating it. Besides, who wants to sound like a sanctimonious prick? But what Kunstler said triggered a pleasurable old memory. Reason Magazine was interviewing Drew Carey and he had some amusing opinions about the city that sin built. It makes for an interesting juxtaposition... Reason: While you're Cleveland's favorite son, you write longingly of your years living in Las Vegas, a city which many people see as the embodiment of vice and excess, of everything that's wrong with America. What do you like about Vegas? Extending that old interview into yet more topicality, Mr. Carey also had an opinion on Kennedy's Behaving Badly. Aptly enough, it was reached by way of substance abuse... Reason: So why do so many people dump on Vegas? We're almost to the Kennedy part. Stay the course... Reason: I take it you favor drug legalization? Finally! In an earlier draft of your book, you had an entire chapter devoted to that brood. What is it that you hate about them? I love it when people confound my expectations. Freedom of speech is surely one of the jewels in our civilization's crown... Reason: You cast aspersions on celebrities who unveil dark secrets, but you also mention that you were molested as a boy and that you tried to commit suicide during your Vegas years.
posted by Justin on 05.18.06 at 12:59 PM |
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"Getting over it" is what I like about Dave Pelzer, survivor of one of the worst abuse cases in California history. (I've actually met him; he's a very funny guy.) While he makes part of his living going around and being a motivational speaker— a curious inversion of the "feel sorry for me 'cause I was abused"— he has little patience with people who won't change because of a hard history. He figures that he was able to work on being a decent person, so anyone should have the ability to.
However, he lets his experience guide him. He wrote once of dealing with one teenager whose response to everything was hostile, and he spoke with her until it came out that it had never occurred to her that she could react differently. Once they had worked out that she was in control of her behavior, she was able to start change... and wow, this got really far away from the point, didn't it?