I have a small red plastic heart -- one of those little trinket charms that come from a bubble gum machine. It might be worth a penny. It was a gift which I've had for years and have no plan to get rid of it.
I also have in the house a lamp. It is what most people these days would call "god-awful". It is supposed to be art-deco in style. Its made out of aluminum. And it doesn't work. I have no plan to get rid of it either.
It is said that one person's trash is another's treasure. A current councilor said to me, "I just don't understand how anyone could love an old barracks." You don't have to understand why someone treasures something; you do have to respect that they do -- particularly when the thing treasured does no one any real harm.
In "Picture of Dorian Grey" Oscar Wilde wrote, "A cynic is a person who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." We live in cynical times; we live in destructive times; we live in times when the treasures of some are cast aside by those who consider them to be trash.
Before there was the biblical story of Lot, there was the Greek story of Diogenes who wandered the streets of a doomed city holding the Lamp of Truth in his hand looking for one honest person.
The Lamp is my wife's. It was made by her beloved grandfather and is one of the few things she has of his and of him.
The question arises: is your definition of "trash" so correct, right, and true that it justifies casting aside that which someone else treasures, though the thing in contention does no harm? It is an ethical question. Good luck with that one. As you wrangle with it, one by one, the public buildings of Los Alamos pre- 1970 are falling.
The Lamp flickers and fades. Will you let it go out?
As Goes Los Alamos -- So goes Los Alamos
The Palace of Malice
On February 7, 2008 the Los Alamos County Council voted to destroy the physical symbol of the Independence of Los Alamos.
On December 21, 2010 5 Members of the Los Alamos County Council, 2 of whom voted in the affirmative in the above cited action, voted to destroy the liberties and rights of the citizens of Los Alamos and to vacate the Charter which was the codification of the Independence of Los Alamos.
The Palace of Malice, akin to Nero's Golden Palace and destined to become home to Ozymandius, will be built upon a foundation of legal chicanery, ruthless manipulation, self-aggrandizement, wanton destruction, and the wholesale abuse of Public Trust and authority --- but at what cost, and borne by whom?
Reality Check -- No community of any size can long survive the destruction of its heritage, the dissolution of its freedoms, and the permanent division of its citizens.
On December 21, 2010 5 Members of the Los Alamos County Council, 2 of whom voted in the affirmative in the above cited action, voted to destroy the liberties and rights of the citizens of Los Alamos and to vacate the Charter which was the codification of the Independence of Los Alamos.
The Palace of Malice, akin to Nero's Golden Palace and destined to become home to Ozymandius, will be built upon a foundation of legal chicanery, ruthless manipulation, self-aggrandizement, wanton destruction, and the wholesale abuse of Public Trust and authority --- but at what cost, and borne by whom?
Reality Check -- No community of any size can long survive the destruction of its heritage, the dissolution of its freedoms, and the permanent division of its citizens.
Other Los Alamos Blogs
About Me
- Richard Hannemann
- I grew up in Los Alamos from 1952 (age 1) to 1974 (age 23) and I am deeply concerned about my hometown -- its past, its present, and what its future might be. Relying on my knowledge of what Los Alamos has been, my education in public economic policy, my years of living outside of N.M., and my 30 years experience of free-lance self-employment, and my recent experience as a local business owner (Hannemann Music), I hope to bring a very different perspective to the issues of Los Alamos.
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