New York vs. LA

Who wins in a head-to-head bout between New York City and Los Angeles? New York has a height advantage, but LA has a reach advantage. Knockouts? Wins and Losses? They both have many. My answer is that they are even. However, I think LA gets a bad rap, and I want to defend my hometown.

I will start with the assumption that human civilization began in Africa and the Middle East. Somewhere during the course of human events, a split emerged separating the Eastern and Western traditions. (For those students of Anthropology please forgive my gross oversimplification for the sake of argument.) If you accept this framework, then we can safely state that the west coast of the United States represents the most recent development of Western Civilization. It is no accident that the Internet boom was born in California, that Microsoft is based in Seattle, that Boeing (until recently) was based in Seattle, that the "moving pictures" industry, the most modern and technologically advanced form of entertainment, is based in California.

The driving forces of Western Civilization (empires) have evolved in a manner that is relatively easy to observe: Macedonians and Mesopotamians evolved into the Greeks, into the Romans, into the Papacy, into the Ottomans, into the Spanish, into the French, into the English, and finally into the (short-lived) Pax Americana. If you accept this trajectory, then it follows that the west coast of the United States is final front of Western Civilization. There is a reason why people in California say they want to move "back east" and that people in New York want to move "out west." The early 20th century clash with Japan and the early 21st century clash with China make sense in this context, as they are the final fronts of Eastern Civilization. We have come full-circle - literally.

Back to LA. Or should I say, "out" to LA. Los Angeles is what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. People's expectations of America's #2 city are what give it the bad reputation that it has. LA is no New York, it is no London, it is no Paris, it is LA, and no city is like LA either. If you want museums, stay in New York or go to Paris. But if you want pure self-indulgence; the triumph of individual over group, go to LA. As long as you take it for what it is, then you won't be disappointed.

So what if California had to create a different EPA scale because of the pollution in Los Angeles. So what if LA is a one-industry town. So what if urban sprawl extends out for miles. That's what humans do: we go forth and multiply. The qualities of Los Angeles lay in its lifestyle. Southern California has the best weather in the US. No one else can lay claim to In-N-Out burger. The sun sets over the Pacific Ocean, signaling the last hours of the day for the world - though Hawaii has the honor of being the last part of the world's day.

Have you ever driven on the Pacific Coast Highway with the top down in February? Can you imagine what it would be like to drive on the West Side Highway in a convertible in the dead of winter? Awful. I am a Pisces, and I have had 80-degree birthdays. People in LA are laid-back and for the most part are happy with their environment and immediate surroundings.

The one redeeming quality about New York's weather is that it is a subject that unifies us all. Sometimes I wonder why we suffer to live in a place that, through the course of the year, has about 6 weeks of "nice" weather. We have about 2 weeks in the spring and 4 weeks in the fall, give or take. However, when the first beautiful day arrives in the fall, like we had this past week, we are all thinking the same thing: "Wow. What a nice day it is." It's an icebreaker - elevator talk. "It's finally getting warm." "It's finally getting cool." "I hope you are enjoying the fantastic weather." "What a beautiful day." We have all made comments like these to start conversation or end awkward silences.

Imagine beautiful days every day. Imagine pollution contributing to the most beautiful sunsets. Imagine being able to valet your car at the supermarket. Imagine a place where you are judged by your wheels, not your heels. Imagine being in Los Angeles, the city of angels, on the cusp of western civilization. It doesn't sound too bad, no?