There I was, walking down the strip opposite the Bellaggio in Vegas. The fountains were spurting as a woman sang what was admittedly a beautiful version of the Star Spangled Banner. As she reached the high notes and the rockets red glare, the fountain spouted gushers higher than one would have thought possible. The whole show was obviously designed to cause you to gasp and remember anew why you loved America.
Except it was hard to reconcile that patriotic fervor with the men on the corners handing out cards for strip clubs that boasted the most beautiful naked ladies in town, or the guys giving out cards for bars that only apparently admitted pretty young women since not one of them ever attempted to give me a card but every young lady walking in front of me got one shoved in her hand. And then there were the buses/vans… whatever the hell they were… that advertised bringing naked dancing women right to you so you wouldn’t even have to dress or bathe.
Yes, I guess this is the glory of America… that we can have this inside our boundaries and still be a pretty great nation… I guess.
But I gotta tell you that this is earning us no friends in the Taliban.