A CIVICS LESSON, TODD-STYLE

Yesterday I made my second trip in three weeks to The Getty; a museum and architectural piece de resistance here in Los Angeles.  This go-round was made with my Aussie friend Jodie, who is here en route to Costa Rica where she is going to teach English.

Whilst ascending the tram, which takes you from the massive parking labyrinth to the actual Center atop the hill, Jodie asked a question that caught me a bit off-guard, "Why did Getty decide to build this?"  I pondered, wondering if J. Paul had some special interest in art or culture - I honestly didn't know, but given what I do know of him I answered something like this:

When people of a certain ilk amass a great fortune, they sometimes find the need to "contribute to society", though not always in the ways that society needs, or wants.  J. Paul Getty was born into wealth and expanded upon it via the lucrative business of petroleum.  His exploitation of such, and his undoubtedly resolute stance that Los Angeles should remain forever reliant on his product, rather than develop an infrastructure of public transport, made him one of the first billionaires in the world. 

As a result, in order to forever leave his mark in his adopted home of L.A. (other than the growing brown layer, which lingers a few hundred yards above us at all times), Getty decided to build an edifice, which could be seen from just about anywhere, as long as "anywhere" is not being obscured by the aforementioned brown layer.  The monument to himself he envisioned was constructed at an estimated cost of $1 Billion, and now resides along one of the worst traffic debacles of our lifetime, Interstate 405.

Now I'll admit, The Getty is beautiful, and a delightful place to visit and ponder the wonder that is Richard Meier's grand design.  However, the money used to construct the center on the hill could have easily been used to more profoundly impact society.

The eventual point of my rant to Jodie was that instead of utilizing the resources that were available to him and truly helping out his fellow man, Getty decided to emblazon an architectural masterpiece with his name, to forever grace the Los Angeles skyline with his thoughtlessness, vanity and contempt for those less fortunate (which is basically all of us).