Home › Forums › Costa Rica Living Forum › Jeff Hickcox has his finger on our pulse
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December 3, 2007 at 5:17 pm #187886fishrmanMember
Diego, it is the right and the DUTY of every citizen of a country, every country, not just the US to question and keep an eye on the doings of their government. I know it seems as if often there is nothing you can do about a government and what they aare doing, but you can try to change the way that government is operating, it’s just a matter of what you’re willing to sacrifice and endure. I served in the US military and was constantly questioning my “superiors” and their orders and I got into trouble for my actions, but I was not blindly going to follow an order that made absolutely no sense just to satisfy another’s inflated ego or sense of “superiority”. That is why I question the government and vote for the people I believe will get us out of trampling on our rights! I don’t blindly follow nor believe all that comes out of our politicians mouths and the puppets they appoint into positions of authority. Question everything and be prepared for the worse, because that’s what you’ll see. It is because of the corruption in the US government and the people’s unwillingness to stop it that I am disillusioned with the US. WE need to get back to the principles the US was founded on… the RIGHT to LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS!!!
December 3, 2007 at 7:28 pm #187887AndrewKeymasterHalle-bloody-lujah! Fishrman
Well said…
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comDecember 4, 2007 at 6:47 pm #187888diegoMemberFisherman if you have read anything I have wrote you know I came out of the womb questioning authority. I am hardly a blind little follower – give me a break.
AS witnessed below by an aragon post – there is a big difference between Bush Bashing and bashing Americans —-
“If I didn’t know better, I would think that the administration has contaminated “US CITIZENS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS.” Maybe the naturally occurring kind can’t be passed on, but either something has been put in the water, air or TV airwaves to create quite a group of let’s say, alternative reality individuals….
Roark, take this from someone that has been studying mental health for a long time, have a friend take you to the nearest mental health clinic/hospital and tell them that the current events and the propaganda on commercial TV news has pushed you over the edge and that you are now a threat to others…Please do not bring your mental health issues to CR unless you are looking to spend some time at Chapui–I happen to know some administrative staff there that could make accommodations for you, but it’s no Club Med there…People do not normally perceive great joy in the fears of others unless “YOU’RE A CERTIFIABLE SADIST”…That alone should be making you very, very afraid for your own mental health…
And BTW I guess what is written above is not insulting Americans in general. And of course being called an ingrate is on no par with calling someone a sadist. So if that is not insults and name calling – I do not know what is.
As I figured, I never got an answer to this one – aragon did you pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America?
I am a passionate patriot and do not apologize for the gist of what I wrote as there was nothing in that post any worse than what was written above – other than being pro American / not pro bush and certainly not pro government. It has been American people that have sacraficed so much to help so many – so frequently – Not American goverments. So, considering the above post, why was I singled out to be admonished in such a way?
December 5, 2007 at 2:25 am #187889AlfredMemberDiego, your heart is in the right place. I said that pledge everyday in school without a second thought, along with millions of other kids. Through the Vietnam war we still said it every day. I said it as an adult when we would open every board member and general membership meeting at our organization. Any place that I find myself where the pledge is being said, I put my hand over my heart and repeat the words I have said thousands of times before. Sometimes now, as I have gotten older, I get a little choked up when I realize why we say it, what it means to be an “American,” and all those who have shed their blood, with honor, for it. I think of my father and father-in-law who served honorably in WW 2, the uncles I had who served, the friends and others we have lost through wars. These are some of the reasons I will always say the pledge.
As far a complaining, and I’ve done my share, it is because I see what is wrong with this country now. The sickness that has pervaded every institution and many minds in this country, leaves me feeling less and less likely to want to live here, but still I cannot forget how it once was.
The beacon of freedom and prosperity this country has been for the world, made this country the destination for millions of immigrants, and it still does. More still try to get here legally or illegally, than try to leave. We haven’t fallen into total despair or disrepair yet. My hope is it can still be a destination for those who want a better life for themselves and their families.
Until such time as I decide to leave, I will continue to try to leave this place a little better than It was given to me. It may be an impossible task, still, it is worth trying for.
There are plenty of things wrong with this country, and right now it looks like it is not getting any better. All of us are in the same boat. The question is, do we sink, bail the boat, or just swim away?
December 5, 2007 at 11:05 am #187890rebaragonMemberAlfred, you’re not alone…many people that have spent their lives loving what the US stood for now write, call, rally and tell all that will listen, that this country has been stolen from them, it’s been hijacked right under our noses within only a few short years so that today you can’t recognize a place you once called home. I have felt incredibly proud of the thoughts that have come from many important US thinkers such as the Founding Fathers (in spite of them not being perfect…) and CERTAINLY the very basis of what this country was built on!
In spite of the strings attached to US AID given abroad, I have always witnessed incredible generosity from the people living within the US and recognize that both sources have come to the rescue of many unfortunate countries affected by acts of nature and other strife.
Today I can tell you that I pledge to seeking the truth, I pledge to demanding justice, I pledge to the Founding Father’s idea of inalienable rights (“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…”), I pledge to giving the US founding principles back to its citizenry, I pledge that I will not endorse government backed terrorism anywhere in the world nor silently accept that “it’s being done for my own good” and I most CERTAINLY pledge to the BRAVE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN that have been sent to be IN HARMS WAY BASED ON A LIE and if they’re lucky they’ll get to come home and find that their VETERAN BENEFITS have been CUT (this is backed by the President and is actually before Congress right now!!) in order to afford the continuation of this unethical and horrible war that has caused so much death and destruction for Iraqi people and for our own troops for no good reason at all!!! and I pledge to myself that I will NEVER blindly pledge to a government or a political philosophy that has stolen America from Americans BUT THIS WILL NEVER mean that I hate America because I pledged long ago that I would NEVER allow myself to hate another human being and I LOVE THE PRINCIPLES that made this a great nation, I just HATE what SOME people, individually and collectively, have done to this country and the ideals that it represented….
December 5, 2007 at 11:35 am #187891*LotusMemberMaybe because your’e a dude, a bad dude at that…lol.
December 5, 2007 at 3:33 pm #187892AlfredMemberRebeca, I always knew you were one of the good guys. Your head and heart are both in the right place, and you are intellectually honest with your reasoning. It is people like you, and the many others here, who are able to distinguish what truly matters from the inconsequential, and are not afraid to say so. Some may label us, paint us with broad brushes, and admonish us for what we say, still, there are the principles and convictions we have learned through our founding fathers that continue to keep us grounded.
We can love the USA, while properly pointing out its faults, and still love Costa Rica at the same time. We do not need to follow blindly with false loyalty, instead, we can honor the greatness of both countries, while maintaining loyalty to our beliefs.
December 6, 2007 at 3:01 pm #187893diegoMemberThis will be my last post here for a while – seems I am terribly busy and it appears by Scotts post that the hoards are clamoring for me to desist – I guess I have done my job.
“Today I can tell you that I pledge to seeking the truth, I pledge to demanding justice, I pledge to the Founding Father’s idea of inalienable rights (“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…”), I pledge to giving the US founding principles back to its citizenry, I pledge that I will not endorse government backed terrorism anywhere in the world nor silently accept that “it’s being done for my own good” and I most CERTAINLY pledge to the BRAVE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN that have been sent to be IN HARMS WAY BASED ON A LIE and if they’re lucky they’ll get to come home and find that their VETERAN BENEFITS have been CUT (this is backed by the President and is actually before Congress right now!!) in order to afford the continuation of this unethical and horrible war that has caused so much death and destruction for Iraqi people and for our own troops for no good reason at all!!! and I pledge to myself that I will NEVER blindly pledge to a government or a political philosophy that has stolen America from Americans BUT THIS WILL NEVER mean that I hate America because I pledged long ago that I would NEVER allow myself to hate another human being and I LOVE THE PRINCIPLES that made this a great nation, I just HATE what SOME people, individually and collectively, have done to this country and the ideals that it represented…. “
By what is written above I have to ask: What office are you running for aragon?
Have you ever considered politics? You weasel out of the gist of the question with the best of them. No one ever came to the conclusion that you hate America (except you of course – see: above).You can’t have it both ways. Although you have been given a pass for being a woman (I guess? according to Lotus) – you don’t get a pass from me.
You pledge yu pledge you pledge – and you wiggle around my question (see:below)
“that I will NEVER blindly pledge to a government” – you speak about the future. I was asking about your past. Did you pledge allegiance to the United States of America?
A simple yes or no will do?
If the answer is “yes” – it does not imply you are a robot or a force of evil.
Many are walking a fine line between being anti-bush and anti-American. Funny how those who are anti-American always rush to give a speal about how they love Americans – when in their hearts they despise us for being richer and stronger than any other country and the police force of the world. It’s “thumb your nose at the police syndrome.”
How many other countries really stand with us? England and Australia? That about it. Australia was never under any threat, but if we did not come to Europe’s rescue they would all be speaking German by now. And how would the little quasi-paradise of Costa Rica be doing if it had to spend almost its entire budget on protection? Not quite the “paradise” it is today – now would it be. I could go on and on about the protection issue and I could even site some websites for you …
Our currency has weakened – hardly collapsed – and it has weakened because we have funded a war that appeared to be and may still be about defending the world – that is right I said “the world” – against Islamic extremism. And if the dollar does collapse who will it hurt – the American people that are working until May to pay their taxes, much of which is used to stabilize the world.
Oh but who cares about them – it’s the death of the dollar! (Which really means – for those that chant it with glee, “we hate the United States”). A collapse of the American currency is a very hurtful thing. And those rooting for it are clearly anti-American. The collapse of the dollar transcends economics and can hardly be played off as merely investment strategies when you are talking about bankrupting the world police force.
To all American haters – remember you are biting the hand that protects you – you take your protection for granted. That means unappreciative and that means ungrateful – therefore the word “ingrate” comes to mind. Do not forget it is the American people that pay to protect the majority of the world from the bad guys!!! We pay. I do not see any other countries policing the world or helping to pay for the world’s general stability.
Do I like the US policing the world – hell no.
First most of the rest of the world does not appreciate our efforts. Second it cost me too much and it costs my child too much and it cost our citizens too much. Do you know what we could of accomplished back home with the money spent on Iraq? How about replacing every school in the country with a new state of the art one? Every school – that is no exaggeration. So who is paying the price for that one? Our children obviously.
It reminds me of all the people binding the giant Tom Thumb. They are gleefully throwing ropes about trying to keep him down. Then we wakes up and casually breaks the bonds and steps on them (that’s not the way the story goes but it sure would make those around the world change their attitude if the one remaining superpower flexed it muscles some – can American haters say “the giant awoke – run and hide now!).
Because I disagree with the course of our leaders that does not mean that I am against our country and wish to see it fail in Iraq. We have chosen to engage extremist in Iraq, we upset the internal order, now we have to restore it- and it looks like it may be happening – bad news for those of you who are rooting for us to fail. But that was are course and as long as we have invested in it and there appears to be a reasonable chance that it will restore order – I will stick with it.
Aragon do you want to see the US fail in Iraq? A simple yes or no will do…
(if you know how to answer yes or no is debatable).
And BTW the wiggle in your response is a perfect example of the blah blah blah quotient – which is – if you do not have a quality response that answers the uncomfortable question – then just dump a quantity of rhetoric on it and see if they will tire and go away.
Its the same thing Castro did in Cuba with his 2-3 hour televised speeches that he so cleverly aired before the Brazilian tela-novellas (soap operas) so popular with the Cubanas – you should have seen the women curse him when his speeches would run past 9 o’clock (into the time slot the novellas were scheduled to start) – hilarious and very clever as he knew he had his highest viewer-ship and would always summarize his speech by re-delivering the gist at the end.
Politicians do the blah blah blah all the time unless someone holds their feet to the fire – and the person who does that usually gets chastised by those who agree with the politician.
To sum it up – there is an old saying – “No good deed goes unpunished” – However like a sometimes misguided good-Samaritan the US keeps doing good deeds anyways – and I hope that this post is doing a good deed by exposing that Bush bashing and being anti American are quite different – but I will probably be punished for it – however I will continue to do good deeds anyways.
So aragon this will be it on this subject but it will be interesting to see if you can give a one word answer to two very simple questions – (I doubt if you will do it though) as the answers obviously will be telling.
December 6, 2007 at 3:05 pm #187894AndrewKeymasterTHERE WILL NE NO ‘ANSWERS’ POSTED.
THIS THREAD IS NOW WELL AND TRULY CLOSED – THERE WILL BE NO MORE POSTINGS HERE…. THIS THREAD IS NOW WELL AND TRULY CLOSED – THERE WILL BE NO MORE POSTINGS HERE….THIS THREAD IS NOW WELL AND TRULY CLOSED – THERE WILL BE NO MORE POSTINGS HERE….
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.com -
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