Sadly, I have come to learn that Las Vegas is not a city of readers.

 

 

Here's a question for you.

What "activity" do you enjoy above all others?

Go ahead, be honest with yourself. No one is around to know your answer. Let's say you're a castaway on a deserted island in the middle of the sea. It's Gilligan's Island -- without the Professor, the Skipper, Ginger or Mary Ann (drats!). Beyond the things you need to survive, what single thing would you choose to do? If forced to choose just ONE of life's pleasures to partake from now to eternity -- what would that activity be?

Would you chose sex? Would you chose television viewing? Would you chose watching sports? Would you choose gambling? Would you chose listening to great music? Would you chose drinking beer? Would you chose eating gourmet cuisine? What would you chose?

If I were forced to chose the ONE activity that brings me the most pleasure, that is single-handedly the most rewarding thing to do -- that activity would be……

Reading.

That's right, READING.

Think about it. Reading allows you to travel to exciting new places. Reading gives you a chance to go back in history, or jump ahead into the future. Reading allows you to meet interesting new people. Reading exposes you to new ideas. Reading opens the doors to vast new experiences. Reading can make you laugh. Reading can make you cry. Reading brings joy. Reading brings understanding. To read -- is to experience all that is required to become and be fully human.

Consider this.

I will never have the honor of meeting Thomas Jefferson or Socrates. But I can "know" these great historical figures because there are books written about them. I can never live during the Roman Empire. But I can "understand" what it was like to live in Rome in 50 AD by reading about it. I will never climb Mount Everest. But I can "feel" what it is like to stand at the highest point on earth by reading a book by someone who has been there. I will never walk on the moon. But I can read Neil Armstrong's words and "know" the feeling through his experience.

Words and books take us to new places. They allow us to meet interesting people, and express ideas we have never considered. Words and books are the bridges to the past, the present, and the future.

Sadly, I have come to learn that Las Vegas is not a city of readers.

A city of people who do not read might as well be sheep out in the middle of a pasture, grazing mindlessly without purpose. I always believed there are essentially two kinds of people in this world -- people with "awareness" if what's around them, and those without. You are either into what is happening with the rest of the world, or you are out of it. It's not something you can fake. Sad fact is, most people are out of it.

There's an interesting story I once heard, that causes me a combination of sadness and disbelief. But, it's 100 percent true.

There was a famous gambling author who was playing poker one day and got involved in a conversation with another player at the table. Somehow, the conversation got around to younger women (imagine that -- at a poker table full of men). The question came up about the intelligence level of the common woman here in Las Vegas. This applied to women who either lived here or were visiting -- it didn't matter. The two gamblers decided to make a friendly little wager. They decided they would come up with THREE simple questions that any person with average intelligence would know the answers to. Then, they would walk out on the Las Vegas Strip in the area right around the Mirage, stop, and rattle-off the questions to the women (mostly twentysomethings). There were three questions. I'm not sure of the amount of the wager, but one of the gamblers proposed that more than HALF the women would be able to answer all three questions correctly. The other gambler figured the women were dumber than that, and most would get at least one answer wrong.

Just to make things clear, one of the questions was "Who is the Vice President of the United States?" I do not recall the other two questions, but they were similar in clarity -- anyone that possessed even an elementary understanding of current events would know the answers.

So, the two gamblers went out on the Las Vegas Strip and began the survey. The first woman missed getting the answers right. Then, the next woman answered incorrectly. They went on to the third, and the fourth, and so on. A few of the women got one or two of the answers right, but NO ONE got all three answers correct after NINE women had been stopped and interviewed. The score was 9-0 in favor of the gambler who bet on the stupidity of the sampling. Finally, the gambling writer was fed up and basically paid off the bet in full. He was stunned that there was so much stupidity in common, ordinary people. These were not high school drop-outs -- they were normal everyday people with jobs and lives.

Of course, this real-life story (yes, it REALLY happened) is an outright indictment of the fairer sex. I tell it not meant to degrade women, as I presume that many twentysomething males would also answer these questions incorrectly (it might be interesting to do the survey with males -- I wonder if the numbers would improve?).

What it shows is that there is a gross lack of awareness in this country (and more specifically in this city) that is absolutely mind-boggling. Stunning. Shocking. Shameful. I guess all you have to do is look at many of our elected officials to see that our government is a reflection of our apathy and ignorance. One of my favorites political quotes of all-time is -- "People get the kind of government they deserve." Think about it. It's true.

Take voter registration drives. It's November right now. I hate voter registration drives. They make me sick. There are campaigns to get people to register to vote. I say "screw 'em." No, let me make it clearer than that -- fuck 'em. I don't want a person voting that doesn't have enough awareness to stay up-to-date on important issues. I don’t' want my vote diluted, cancelled out, and watered down like bucket of prison soup because a moron signed a voter registration card at the last second and now is going into the voting booth to pull the lever for the candidate with the prettiest smile.

ON A RELATED TOPIC: There's was an election held here in Las Vegas. By far, the most controversial issue on the November ballot was the proposition to legalize marijuana. I've never had any personal interest doing drugs, nor have I smoked marijuana. But, I voted in favor of legalization. It's consistent with my libertarian principles and my stand in favor of individual rights. I do not want the government telling me what I can versus cannot do. That goes for -- drinking, smoking, gambling, sexual activities, and essentially all other acts should be a matter of individual choice in a free society. Of course, our side lost on this issue by a landslide. In Nevada! So much for freedom and rights of individuals.

In the last election, our side was BADLY outnumbered. Now, at least for the next two years we have to withstand the right wing of the Republican Party trying to turn back our personal freedoms -- particularly on gambling. In the next session, you can expect to see the Republicans re-introduce and try to ban Internet wagering, stop betting on college sports, and generally oppose any expansion of legalized gambling. These are dangerous times we are living in, folks.

If these neo-fascists get their way, there will be no more MadJackSports and you'll be back to dealing with the neighborhood bookie. Just like the bad old days.