Monday, July 30, 2012

Casinos in Philly or elsewhere...Do we need them?


"Moreover, people are not talking insects. That is, ants and bees, for example, are the same creatures, whether at the Sahel in Africa, or on the North Pole."


Dear friends,

Do we need casinos in Philly, or elsewhere in America. The silly excuse that more casinos means "economic development" is a lie! Worse yet, while the revenues from casinos only fill the coffers of huge corporations and thieving state governments, casino enthusiasts, whether unscrupulous politicians or gullible everyday citizens, ignore the fact that real economic growth is ultimately reflected NOT by "jobs" (which are, usually, not that long-lasting anyway), but according to the personal advancement - materially (e.g., better food, shelter, and clothing), along with the growth intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually, of each person within the citizenry. After all, do only SOME people deserve to do well, through gambling - or employment for that matter, or should everyone have equal access to not just opportunity, but, as well, the availability of greater responsibility, in status, with the aforementioned opportunity, through  time?

Moreover, people are not talking insects. That is, ants and bees, for example, are the same creatures, whether at the Sahel in Africa, or on the North Pole. However, people are political/social animals whose behavior is based upon our experiences and interactions with others. In other words, we require social adaptation. Insects don't!

Therefore, turning additional hundreds of thousands of people (we already have that many scratch ticket addicts) into gambling addicts at casinos, who will rarely win anything, implicates both city and state governments in crimes against their citizens' well-being, for starters.

So how is that a gain in either economic development, as it were, or even our standard of living? In fact, gambling is "anti-community", since it pits citizens against their fellows, with the former only wishing the best for themselves, at the expense of the latter.

G. Djata Bumpus
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