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Future Connectivity, Freedom and Safety
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CFS: Las
Vegas Certain Formula for Success with Connectivity, Freedom
and Safety
By Robert L. Candiotti February 18, 2011
With a combination of connectivity, freedom
and safety - the future of Las Vegas can remain distinguished, dazzling and profitably successful.
| Thomas Jefferson, courtesy of mbell 1975. |
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| 235 years after "Life, Liberty and pursuit of Happiness" written, applicable to Las Vegas. |
| Airbus A380 flying, photograph by Phinalanji. |
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| Since Declaration of Independence penned, travel can change, but libertarian freedom is the same. |
It is now 235 years
since Thomas Jefferson completed the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress presented Jefferson's
powerful writing to the public of this country. The Declaration
of Independence, more than two centuries later, is considered to be, as David Boaz states in The Libertarian Reader,
"the most influential piece of libertarian writing in history."
In the everlasting second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence - certainly influenced by intellectual John Locke,
who wrote 100 years earlier than him - Jefferson stated "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Pursuits, both of happiness and adventure, have always been fundamental activities
in the U.S. After he became the 3rd President of the United
States, in 1803 Jefferson had the Lewis and Clark Expedition explore the country's hinterlands. What eventually became Nevada, in those distant days, was naturally complete wilderness.
What would Jefferson think if he could visit Las Vegas, Nevada, today? What would he think of the incredible city in the West
that successfully offers both freedom and safety?
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| Extraordinary Las Vegas Strip, air photo by fluffysteve2. |
And what would Jefferson think of the fact that
several millions of visitors come to Las Vegas each and every month? He probably would be fascinated to ponder, 235 years
after he wrote the Declaration of Independence, there - in the middle of the country's desert land - is a neon
city that offers Americans, and visitors from around the world, "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Maybe Jefferson would be surprised. And maybe not. He was the one who wrote
about "unalienable Rights." And here he could see a city in the American West which offers that with freedom, safety
and a lot of fun. If visiting Las Vegas, Jefferson
would quickly become familiar with jet travel. He would learn that people are able to fly halfway around the world in a single
day. Flying machines can carry human beings many thousands of miles nonstop. In two centuries, technology had evolved phenomenally. Yet, the essence of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson would undoubtedly
believe, should remain the same in the 21st Century.
Today, it is common that the Declaration of Independence is recognized as a foundation of libertarianism. Las Vegas is one
of the world's leading cities that is focused on libertarianism. At its optimum, Las Vegas offers both individual rights and
peace. Visiting today, Thomas Jefferson would probably see this is a definable reality of Las Vegas. Of course, in addition to its libertarian (freedom
and safety) strengths, Las Vegas will need to maintain its essential aviation transportation connectivity- continuously emphasized throughout this IvanpahValley.com website - with the
construction of the proposed Ivanpah Valley Airport, 30 miles south of Las Vegas.
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| Ayn Rand, courtesy spooky5. |
There
is an important 20th Century thinker who wrote about essential human rights, as well as the power of original thoughts. Born in Russia in 1905, Ayn Rand (with the original
name of Alisa Rosenbam) visited the United States at the age of 20, and never returned to the country where she
came from. Like the writer
of Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, the spellbinding philosopher Ayn Rand was convinced that individuals
have inalienable rights that should be a basis of human reality. She
said, "Man - every man - is an end to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and his own happiness
is the highest moral purpose of his life."
To date, Rand has sold more than 25 million books, and hundreds of thousands of her writings continue to be purchased
each year. In her book The Fountainhead
(rejected by 12 publishers before being printed in 1943), the hero Howard Roark makes a statement that points out the difficulties
of new thoughts and original creativities. Perhaps the struggles for a successful future at libertarian Las Vegas can be related
to the words of Roark: "The great creators
- the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors - stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought
was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The airplane was considered
impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of unborrowed vision went
ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won."
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| Ron Paul, courtesy shaunconnell. |
It is said that Ron Paul, a Republican Congressman from Texas,
was influenced by Ayn Rand, as well as many other libertarian philosophers and economists. Ron Paul had,
and continues to have, many libertarian positions on important political topics. In fact, before he ran to be the
Republican Party 2008 President of the United States nominee, he was the nominee of the Libertarian Party for President of
the U.S. in 1988. Most recently, at Paul's 2011 Conservation Political Action Conference (CPAC) speech,
he said, "We need a change in attitude, a change in ideas. We don't need to just change the political parties. We need
to change our philosophy about what this country is all about." Interestingly,
in his 20-minute speech, Paul talked about violence, actually the absence of violence. Peace is, in fact, a main ingredient
of libertarianism. Avoidance of violence is a main aspect of successful libertarianism. Paul stated, "We should all swear
off the use of violence against our neighbors, our friends and other countries."
This is being mentioned here because one of the reasons why Las Vegas has long been successful is because the tourist areas
- including the famous Las Vegas Strip - are generally void of violence. For continued success, lack of violence - i.e., safety
- needs to be the reality in Las Vegas.
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Notably, safety in Las
Vegas is preserved and continued by the region's police force.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (also known as Metro) is the police force for the City
of Las Vegas, as well as the Nevada county area known as Clark County.
Metro was formed in 1973. Las Vegas' ability to successfully offer safety to both residents and visitors is directly related
to the police department, also referred to as LVMPD. It is not a simple
accomplishment for Metro to allow the freedom of a libertarian environment, yet also ensure that violence is controlled. It is reported that Metro currently has around 5,000 members. Being an excellent police officer
in Las Vegas is certainly not easy, but the force members generally do a very good job.
 The officers are proficient, and
they continue their jobs with required additional training. One of the essential aspects of libertarianism completeness is safety, and the Metro
police department generally works hard to make safety an integrated aspect of Las Vegas' unique libertarian nature. Metro police may not be totally perfect. ("Have no fear of perfection-you'll
never reach it," said Spanish painter Salvador Dali). Still, the continuous efforts of LVMPD help provide the endurance
of a foremost libertarian city. Coverage of the
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in Wikipedia.org says that an outside audit, commissioned in 1999 by the
City of Las Vegas and conducted by DMG-Maximus, concluded that police officer recruitment and selection procedures are "among
the best we have encountered in recent years." The auditors found that management staffing was well controlled, and the
Metro managers were of "excellent quality."
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