Calvin's Weblog

Viva Las Vegas!

We're back from a quick 'sanity regainer' jaunt to Las Vegas. Way too quick, but totally worth it. We took in shows, went to almost every hotel & casino, rode the Manhattan rolercoaster at New Yerk New York, and even took in a Medieval Times dinner show of jousting and swordplay while eating with our fingers at The Excalibur. We gambled lots, I drank lots of comp'd budwiesers, and we still managed to walk about 15 to 20 KM a day, up and down the strip.... in short sleeves! It was around 20 degrees during the day... not hot, but really nice compared to the -12 we had here the week before.
I've got lots of pictures (yet to be developed) and lost of 'Americanism' stories to tell about this trip. For instance, at the beginning of the Jousting tournament, each section of the audience was supposed to cheer for their 'king', and each king represented a different European country. Our King was the King of Spain...
Anyway, when the king of Frace came on to the field, the whole stadium booed... including the section that was supposed to be cheering for him! I just don't get it. The president starts eating 'Freedom Fries', so the whole damn country goes on a 'oh, we must hate the French today' kick. It's sad... really sad. Especially since right across the street from the Excalibur is the massive Statue of Liberty replica at New York New York.
Does anyone else see the glaring irony in this? America hates the French because they refused to send troops to Iraq without conclusive proof... and as we all know now, there wasn't any proof of WMD. The French were RIGHT, and that pisses off the Americans even more. The Americans hate the French because they won't stand up for American values, or help fight for American values.... irony of all ironies, the French GAVE the U.S. their values, AND without the French provided arms, ships, money, and men to the American colonies, America would never have been able to win its freedom from the British during the American Revolution. Some Frenchmen - most notably the Marquis de Lafayette, a close friend of George Washington - even became high-ranking officers in the American army. It was an alliance of respect and friendship the French would not forget... which brings me back to the Statue of Liberty...
Almost 100 years later, in 1865, several French intellectuals opposed to the oppressive regime of Napoleon III were at a small dinner party discussing their admiration for America's success in establishing a democratic government and abolishing slavery at the end of the Civil War. The dinner was hosted by Edouard Rene Lefebvre de Laboulaye. Laboulaye was a scholar, jurist, abolitionist and a leader of the "liberals," the political group dedicated to establishing a French republican government modeled on America's constitution. During the evening, talk turned to the close historic ties and love of liberty the two nations shared. Laboulaye noted there was "a genuine flow of sympathy" between the two nations, and called France and America "the two sisters."
As he continued speaking, reflecting on the centennial of American independence only 11 years in the future, Laboulaye commented, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if people in France gave the United States a great monument as a lasting memorial to independence and thereby showed that the French government was also dedicated to the idea of human liberty?" Laboulaye's casual question struck a responsive chord in Bartholdi. Years later, recalling the dinner, Bartholdi wrote that Laboulaye's idea "interested me so deeply that it remained fixed in my memory."
So was sown the seed of inspiration that would become the Statue of Liberty.
Construction began.... and On October 25, 1886, Bartholdi and his wife, accompanied by Count Ferdinand-Marie de Lesseps, chairman of the French Committee, arrived in America. At Liberty Island, surrounded by newspaper reporters recording his words for posterity, Bartholdi simply said, "The dream of my life is accomplished." Dignitaries from both nations were in abundant attendance. Representing America were President Grover Cleveland and members of his cabinet, as well as the governor of New York and his staff. The French ambassador attended, accompanied by the French Committee. And, most ironically, members of some of America's wealthiest families - the same families who had not contributed a single cent to the statue's pedestal - now jockeyed for seats of prominence.
When it was President Cleveland's turn to speak, he said, "We will not forget that Liberty has made here her home, nor shall her chosen altar be neglected." Now, more than 100 years later, neither she nor her chosen altar has been neglected.... to bad we can't say the same for the French, huh?