The following press release comes courtesy of One Southern Indiana, which works hard to keep the exurb exactly the way it is now. Rev up your Hummers, and read on:
7 Wonders of Louisville - in Southern Indiana
The Falls of the Ohio was named one of the "7 Wonders of Louisville" - a great representation for Southern Indiana! The other "Wonders" are:
Belle of Louisville; Cave Hill Cemetery; Churchill Downs; Olmsted Parks System; Slugger Museum and Bat Factory; and Waverly Hills.
Over 6,000 total votes were cast in this popular community-wide contest. This contest was co-sponsored by the Mayor's Office, Louisville Historical League, and LouisvilleMoJo.com.
The top 7 Wonders were selected from a list of 20 historical and cultural sites, which had been previously determined by an earlier nomination contest. May is 'Hometown Tourist' month, and with increasing fuel costs, Louisville is fortunate to have many fascinating things to see and do within the metro region.
Area residents are encouraged to visit these '7 Wonders' during this upcoming summer, as well as all of our beautiful cultural and heritage landmarks.
With Louisville MoJo involved, I'd have expected some mention of strip clubs or escort services, but perhaps the web site's level of support wasn't sufficiently high, and besides, 1SI's bedmate, Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana, would have been dismayed.
Speaking of the arbiter of regional culture, ROCK's latest cultural campaign is an on-line lobbying effort and petition to encourage the state of Kentucky to offer "In God We Trust" worship license plates: "This is a critical moment for Kentucky to stand up for the principles behind our nation's motto - 'In God We Trust' - and protect our heritage."
To each his own. I suppose heritage items like the slaughter of Native Americans (never pursued without the sanction of organized religion), slavery and the persecution of homesexuals are important in a historically ignorant sort of way ... right?
I suppose it's hard to quibble with the saccharine-safe list of "wonders," which seem to have been chosen with an eye on tourism alone, but I do wish to contest the inclusion of Waverly Hills. If symbolism is the intent, then the Muhammad Ali Center should be on the list.
Perhaps the organizers reasoned that a black man running for president was enough to antagonize local racist residents during one calendar year, and yet the fact renains that Ali is from here, is revered throughout the world outside Louisville, and that should count for something.
What again is the nature of the culture that we're supposed to be reclaiming?
Okay, so I took the leap and actually looked at the ROCK website. While perusing, I came upon something interesting, possibly hypocritical...this religious group, full of God's love for everyone, HATES hate crime legislation. How does hate crime legislation violate one's freedom of speech? Just curious...
ReplyDeleteR.O.C.K. doesn't believe in the Constitution anyway. For them to even use it in an argument is hypocritical.
ReplyDeleteWE need to reclaim white male patriarchy Roger, duh. Since that game is so over in most of the nation, as well as the world, well, save for certain fundamentalist Islamic societies, the American bible belt is the "last stand" for the white male superiority complex that infects our gene pool. I just keep in mind the fact that belief is irrational and watch with amusement as the religious right thunders on with their illogical campaigns.
ReplyDeleteI just thought I'd mention that not ALL churches persecute or treat gay people with judgment and anger or with a need to 'fix' them.
ReplyDeleteAnd...a lot of us do love a Constitution that separates the state from the church. Actually, I like that a lot!
what John said.
ReplyDeletealso, the invitation to join me one Sunday at Central on Spring St, so you can actually see that not all Christians are hate-mongers still stands. Still no takers.