Salt Lake City... a "center" of the future world? (Moroni: movies, centers)

[Chango]

Lets play pretend for a moment...

I am imagining a future, perhaps in another 100 years where Salt Lake City is a major center of world civilization; a center of arts, culture and learning on the scale of today's NYC, London, Rome or Tokyo (ok, laugh and snicker, get it out of your system now, but stay with me. )

Imagine if SLC was the only large urban area to escape massive destruction after a systemic world collapse; after the (probably radioactive) dust settled, it was up to us to carry the torch of civilization forward.


What would a world heavily influence by Utah culture be like? Would we be up to the task? How would our own local culture change/evolve?

[irman]

Originally Posted by Chango

Lets play pretend for a moment... , perhaps in another 100 years, after the (probably radioactive) dust settled

Problem with *pretend* ...
Just dreams , and OK, to talk about, but not really a discussion

Problem with radio active dust, 100 years would not be enough, more like 2000 years ???

But ... you could have fun dreaming !!!
So dream to your hearts content.

OK, I will start with my first dream.
We will all be walking around in white suits and masks ....
(stay clear of any possible radio active debris ??)

[ShouldIMoveOrStayPut...?]

It could set a good exaple I suppose. Mormon practices already encompass healthy lifestyles and acts of preparedness (food stockpiles in basements, etc.)

Utah would be the "go to" place for "green" energy because hopefully by then a Utahn will have figured out how to drill relief vents into the caldera at Yellowstone National Park which will slowly and steadily release pressure preventing a future blow. The rising heat, steam and gasses recycled into energy to power future needs.

Oh, and if any future "Terminator" robot seems to be mulling about and causing trouble, just toss him down a vent tube, trust me, he won't be back.

[ShouldIMoveOrStayPut...?]

Oh gather all ye Utahn's, having a pared down sense of humor is one thing, but having no sense of adventure , creative conceptualization, challenging the mind to come up with the concepts of what could be. Hang your heads in shame....

Chango posts this creatively conceptual thread and only two responders as it drifts down the page toward oblivion?

I mean at the very least SLC would be the focus of all the major movies, with New York look what the indignities the Empire State Building and Statue Of Liberty have had to suffer from King Kong swinging Fay Wray at the biplanes to poor Lady Liberty being buried to her waist in beach sand in "Planet Of The Apes", wiped out by huge tidal waves, toasted by solar flares, buried to her neck in snow, etc..etc...

It's about time downtown Salt Lake, the Angel Moroni, the folks on top of the "This Is The Place" monument, the Capital Building, Liberty Park, etc. all get the same box office treatment.

Oh and a rep point for this thread for you Chango, regarless of how far it goes.

[BuckeyezRule]

I think people might be nicer, not have good food lol, family values, bad drivers lol, lots of family activities & family friendly events. That's all I can think of now. lol Oh, & lots of dents in your car from, I guess, kids opening the door into your car. I've never seen so many dents on our car doors. lol Though I have kids myself, so, I really don't care so much about the dents. lol

[sp2007]

This would only happen in a Orson Scott Card novel.

FRY SAUCE EVERYWHERE, THE HUMANITY!

[irman]

Originally Posted by ShouldIMoveOrStayPut...?

Chango posts this creatively conceptual thread and only two responders as it drifts down the page toward oblivion?.

Uhmmm ...
I only reacted on the suggestion Chango gave, which was

<<<Imagine if SLC was the only large urban area to escape massive destruction after a systemic world collapse; after the (probably radioactive) dust settled, it was up to us to carry the torch of civilization forward.>>>

If that does not make you think there will be little left .....

Now ..., if ONLY this was mentioned:

<<<perhaps in another 100 years where Salt Lake City is a major center of world civilization; a center of arts, culture and learning on the scale of today's NYC, London, Rome or Tokyo>>>

I wonder why Chango thinks that right now, we are NOT on the scale of those big towns he mentions.
We *may* not be a major center, but we are sure not behind or less than suggested !!
Is Chango only speaking about *Size/Quantity* and leaving *Quality* out ???

[stycotl]

Originally Posted by irman

Uhmmm ...
I only reacted on the suggestion Chango gave, which was

<<<Imagine if SLC was the only large urban area to escape massive destruction after a systemic world collapse; after the (probably radioactive) dust settled, it was up to us to carry the torch of civilization forward.>>>

If that does not make you think there will be little left .....

Now ..., if ONLY this was mentioned:

<<<perhaps in another 100 years where Salt Lake City is a major center of world civilization; a center of arts, culture and learning on the scale of today's NYC, London, Rome or Tokyo>>>

I wonder why Chango thinks that right now, we are NOT on the scale of those big towns he mentions.
We *may* not be a major center, but we are sure not behind or less than suggested !!
Is Chango only speaking about *Size/Quantity* and leaving *Quality* out ???

i for one am glad that we are not generally included in that list of "major centers." we're crowded enough as it is; i don't want more traffic, more crime, more stupidity. leave that for the real world centers of "civilization."

[Chango]

OK, lets set the record straight here. This whole idea came from something I read on the paleofuture blog; a prediction of the USA in 1993 from 1893. Paleofuture - Paleofuture Blog - Predictions for 1993*(1893)

The article predicted Salt Lake City would be the most "extensive and beautiful" of western cities and that Chicago would ultimately be the center of the US.

Obviously, they were off the mark, but considering how Salt Lake was booming and rolling in wealth (mostly due to the mining industry in the state), I can easily understand why a turn of the century mind would assume we'd be up on top in 100 years.

Well, a lot can change over a century, and we've basically come full circle from a cosmopolitan crossroads of many different cultures, religions and excessive wealth to a insular, white LDS domintated backroads to a very wealthy consmopolitan center (among many much larger such centers) all over again in that time.

So maybe it isn't too crazy to imagine Salt Lake as a high culture center of the world, considering that. I only proposed Salt Lake as an island of civilization in a post-apocalyptic world because that would be the easiest way for us to find ourselves in such a position. Anyway, if you don't wanna play, DON'T. I'm not arguing any point here, just asking: "what if?"

[Chango]

...Anyways, I imagine our contribution as a major world center would have been to create a strong work ethic and very strong sense of independence as well as fair play; we may have celebrated hard work and fairly earned wealth, but hold contempt for charlatans and Wall Street gamblers who became wealthy by screwing other people over. If Wall St ended up as "Exchange Place" today, we would have fundamentally altered the world econonomy and ended up with a system that would have been far less "boom and bust" and far more egalitarian, not to mention moral, but most likely less profitable (in the short term anyway).

On the more negative side, I imagine we would have forced the issue of prohibition harder with more leverage, as well as draconian liquor laws and our industrial focus would have scored poorly with modern environmentalists...