The favorite parlor game of Aspen locals is to bash the wealthy visitors who over the last half century turned this dilapidated near-ghost town into a renowned place of recreation and money.
If you’re readers aren’t convinced that Aspen’s denizens are brain dead, they should read two of the other Letters to the Editor in the Aspen Daily News. One of them equates the gift of $17 mil to an “act of service” such as picking up a piece of trash in the pedestrian mall. The other suggests naming the facility’s toilets after the donor. If I write one, it will suggest that Mr. Klein withdraw his donation and flush Aspen down his mental toilet.
I had to check this out...that "tent" rivals the size of an NFL stadium! And if I had to bet, I would wager that the majority of performance attendees are not "locals" as Marolt would define them, but the visitors and part year residents who bear the lion's share of AMFS operations costs through ticket purchases and donations.
Every community has nice things like this that are started by local initiative. Over time, those "nice things" either take off or die off, depending on the effort exerted (and money donated) to constantly grow and improve them. AMFS appears to enjoy broad and robust community support - that's something to celebrate, not denigrate.
Aspen is truly in the First World if this is any indication of its "problems"!
BTW, the donor is not some newcomer trying to buy his way in. Here's how he's described on the music school's website:
"Michael Klein has been a member of the AMFS Board of Trustees since 2008, leading its Strategic Planning process in 2014, and serving as its Vice Chair for four years. In 2018 he became Chair. Klein has had extensive involvement in public and private business.... His current principal non-profit activities include serving as Board Chair of The Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, DC), as well as Board Chair and CEO of the Sunlight Foundation, the Gun Violence Archive, and the Global Warming Mitigation Project—all of which he founded. He is also a member of the boards of The Aspen Institute, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Harvard Law School."
I suppose that record of accomplishment and generosity serves only to make Marolt hate him all the more.
As I read about the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus advised his audience that when they give to charity, they should do so in secret and not show off about it. The idea is that giving should come from a willing heart and not from someone motivated to make themselves look better.
I think this line of thinking still applies in most places.
If you’re readers aren’t convinced that Aspen’s denizens are brain dead, they should read two of the other Letters to the Editor in the Aspen Daily News. One of them equates the gift of $17 mil to an “act of service” such as picking up a piece of trash in the pedestrian mall. The other suggests naming the facility’s toilets after the donor. If I write one, it will suggest that Mr. Klein withdraw his donation and flush Aspen down his mental toilet.
I hope you write that letter, Chad.
I had to check this out...that "tent" rivals the size of an NFL stadium! And if I had to bet, I would wager that the majority of performance attendees are not "locals" as Marolt would define them, but the visitors and part year residents who bear the lion's share of AMFS operations costs through ticket purchases and donations.
Every community has nice things like this that are started by local initiative. Over time, those "nice things" either take off or die off, depending on the effort exerted (and money donated) to constantly grow and improve them. AMFS appears to enjoy broad and robust community support - that's something to celebrate, not denigrate.
Aspen is truly in the First World if this is any indication of its "problems"!
BTW, the donor is not some newcomer trying to buy his way in. Here's how he's described on the music school's website:
"Michael Klein has been a member of the AMFS Board of Trustees since 2008, leading its Strategic Planning process in 2014, and serving as its Vice Chair for four years. In 2018 he became Chair. Klein has had extensive involvement in public and private business.... His current principal non-profit activities include serving as Board Chair of The Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, DC), as well as Board Chair and CEO of the Sunlight Foundation, the Gun Violence Archive, and the Global Warming Mitigation Project—all of which he founded. He is also a member of the boards of The Aspen Institute, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Harvard Law School."
I suppose that record of accomplishment and generosity serves only to make Marolt hate him all the more.
Glenn: This Marolt dude is one sick idiot!
As I read about the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus advised his audience that when they give to charity, they should do so in secret and not show off about it. The idea is that giving should come from a willing heart and not from someone motivated to make themselves look better.
I think this line of thinking still applies in most places.
Happy New Year!