Vegas Vs. 7 world wonders

Over the weekend the 7 new wonders of the world were announced. I am a little surprised that the Las Vegas Strip was not even nominated to be among the new ones. People have laughed at me without fail for even suggesting that. But I believe it.

 

As a consolation, we do have a replica of one winner: a Roman Colosseum (Caesars Palace). Civic pride forces me to point out that unlike the original, our Colosseum is not a ruin and still hosts Celine Dion (call it a draw on that one) with bonus points for the weeks Elton John performs. In fact, the Las Vegas Strip was not even a nominee among the 21 choices. Yet, among the nominees we have three replicas: a pyramid (improved by a giant light bulb on top), an Eiffel Tower and a Statue of Liberty. That leaves out freaks of nature like the massive MGM Grand resort. How about the endless pool at the Flamingo. I mean, what would an alien coming to Earth think of Vegas? The entire bizarre Strip with its lakes and a volcano erupting nightly and lights reaching into the heavens and all of it built on the same street in the middle of nowhere and for no visible reason. Hello! Who wouldn't be left in wonder? Imitate enough you truly create something original. And, everyone agrees, there is no place like Vegas.

 

Yet, somehow the Sidney Opera House was a finalist and not the Las Vegas Strip. Maybe we are too familiar for people to give us the wonder we deserve?  The Strip is certainly a universally recognized location and more visited than any of the chosen finalists. I sort of understand why people smirk at me for mentioning that we should be one of the world's new wonders. Unlike the other wonders, which are fixed to the time and date of their construction, the wonder of the Strip skyline is ever changing. But doesn't that make it even more unique among humanity's creations? There is also plenty to wonder at already. I don't see how the engineering and architectural billions poured into a tiny remote part of the Nevada desert can not be considered one of the wondrous achievements outside nature's own? Even as I write this item crews are building Project City Center, which is being billed by MGM as the largest private company construction undertaking in history. Think of the complexities involved just to get the material here to build the thing. Vegas resorts are truly a unique phenomenon even as they constantly change and are imitated

 

I get that the motives and values that built the Strip may not call to  mind the things that make us proudest to be human. But even more then the architecture with its staggering bulk, the Strip speaks like nothing else created by us to the more earthy needs of humanity.

 

 

All that aside, there is a spot near my home where after sunset I can get a clear view of the Strip all lit up. I am awed every time. Yet even from a quiet distance, you know, the frantic human activity that is always thriving under those lights. Anyway, though not a finalist and a bit late, I cast my vote for the Las Vegas Strip as one of the 7 new wonders of the world.