Sunday, May 13, 2012

Rant to the desert community

Now that I've moved to a new place, I am walking-distance to several things which makes me happy. What makes me unhappy is the sights I see on my way to the nearby rec center: manicured lawns and landscaping full of water-hungry plant species, gigantic trucks/SUVs in every driveway, huge air conditioning units on every over-sized home. This brought a surge of angry, frustrated thoughts that I often have when faced with the realities of living in Las Vegas. It is beyond comprehension why people move to this uniquely harsh environment and believe that it is their right to re-create some kind of lush, familiar, tree-lined urban landscape, somehow convincing themselves that their comfort & happiness trumps all other considerations when using up our very limited desert resources. If xeriscaping isn't cutting it, if the wide selection of desert-adapted plants, the assortment of geologically significant rock formations, the expansive views, the brilliant blue skies, etc, etc isn't enough to satiate your aesthetic appetite, THEN MOVE!! If you want trees, and roses, and grassy fields, MOVE!!! If you want 60 degrees indoors (despite the 100 degrees outside) then MOVE!!! Water does not magically multiply as the population does. I love how people have this delusional, American "patriotic" attitude that freedom means free-reign to rape and abuse and destroy the very America they claim to hold so dear. Why isn't preserving this country as it was, responsibly enjoying our land while leaving it unscarred so the next American can enjoy it the priority of every "patriot"?? I've seen multiple bumper stickers in this area reading "Wilderness: Land of no use" and it just saddens me that the only joy these people seem to find is brought by destruction. The American dream needs to progress beyond the white picket fence, making babies, and consuming, consuming, consuming. I implore you to seek out happiness that does not involve a purchase and to find a place that feels like home without transforming it into something completely unnatural. 


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