It
would appear that the Pacific side of these countries is more affluent than
the Caribbean side. Not that you will want to go house hunting any time soon,
but still, not nearly as depressing as what we saw last year.
As
noted previously, Costa Rica is proud of its accomplishments and heritage.
However, the one constant on this trip is that every guide feels the same way
about his (or her) country. It truly irks me when the drum-beaters for
“American Exceptionalism” fail to realize that most people, or at least those
with a sense of country, believe that their country, too, is exceptional. Those
same loud voices are also critical of the trend to eliminate winners and
losers, the trophies for all attitude. “We can’t all be winners.”
I get
that, but comparing your country to mine isn’t even a parlor game and what
rules there may be come from those who want to stack the deck so that their
homeland becomes the winner. National pride can’t only be good when it’s ours.
Who is to say that we’re better than anyone else? I’d suggest we’d be better
off treating our attitude toward our country like golf, and working on just
being the best that we can, knowing there is always room for improvement, without
the need to “beat” some other country. In the unlikely event that I could beat
you (or anyone) in a golf match, it still wouldn’t mean I was any good.
Being
better than the competition doesn’t mean you’re good. Being louder than the
other side doesn’t mean you’re right. Bob Dylan long ago got it right when he
said, “Not to climb up any higher but rather drag you down the hole that he’s
in.” We should be cheering these countries as they work to develop their
economies, education, social services, etc., even if not always the same way we
would prefer. Instead, the American Exceptionalists seem to want to put a
ceiling on others’ ambition so that we can wave our foam fingers and shout, “We’re #1!”
to justify any action we take. Let’s at least not be offended or surprised when
we get a different finger in return.
On a
slightly different note, I must admit it was a bit disconcerting to see all the
soldiers with big guns on our last two stops. I know I’m in the minority here,
but being surrounded by armed people, even if it’s obviously the military doing
its job, does NOT make me feel safer. It only makes me wonder when they’re
going to use them, and on whom. And if you’re a civilian toting a gun, well,
hey, you
may know you’re not crazy or a threat to me, but I sure as hell don’t. Quite
frankly, your need to display your weaponry is enough to make me wonder.
But
back to foreign travel, we remember seeing lots of guns and armed security in
Europe, especially Italy, almost 40 years ago. Didn’t make us feel safer then,
either.
In any
case, we’re happy to be trading the snow at home for the 80+ degree
temperatures here, at least temporarily. And now a few random pictures:
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