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I am still living in the U.S.
I referred to the U.S. as a country made up of immigrants FROM EVERYWHERE all coming here for the same goal, money. That means new immigrants AND the ones who have been here for generations.The world is filled with people like them and like you, focused on the money. My point is that money is not a particularly satisfying goal when it becomes the ONLY goal, whether obtained or not. It is a false prize.
I suppose it is human nature but people develop insight with maturity…usually. It is not unusual for young people to strive for money and power. Nor is it unusual for mature people to grow beyond those goals. A country or culture should be made up of both influences but not entirely of just the money oriented one.
I disagree with your crass assessment of Costa Rica. Costa Ricans are very different than other Central Americans. They do not leave their country en mass like others do to settle in the U.S. chasing down money. We have large immigrant communities in Miami from everywhere south of us EXCEPT Costa Rica. There just are not many Ticos here. They seem to like their homeland better. I don;t blame them.
We see the world through different eyes and your assessment is skewed to a right leaning, capitalistic, patriotic “My Country, Right Or Wrong” attitude. All I can do is point to a few objective facts:
1) Ticos stay put
2) YOU are living there instead of your birth country.
Be honest with your self and you might see a bit of hypocrisy peeking through all the flag waving.Part of the cause of much of the poverty and injustice in some Central American, Caribbean and South American countries which pushes the people from these areas to immigrate to the U.S. lies in the foreign policies of the United States.
Please believe me when I tell you I am not an innocent and naive puppy. I know the world and I am familiar with the miseries of poverty and injustice in other places.
All those Nicaraguans and Mexicans who want to trade places with me are part of the problem with my country. The united States is made up now of people from all parts of the world whose only goal in life is an economic one. The lofty goal of community is gone from my culture because we have presented our country as a place where everyone can achieve the American Dream of wealth and freedom. That dream is a lie because in the end, it only creates a society of self involved, disconnected individuals who suddenly find one day that they are not really happy.
Many of the old Cubans who came to Miami 60 years ago have died, many never having returned to their mother country. I used to see them playing dominoes in the parks and talked with them at social gatherings. They pined for the good old days when they had very little in the way of economic wealth but they owned a world of happiness and contentment living in the culture in which they grew up. Some admitted in private that they deceived themselves that the U.S. would be a paradise.
They discovered a truth about human happiness I have finally come across. It has little to do with being self absorbed and chasing the dollar. That is all my culture has to offer to anyone now. We bully our way across the planet taking what we want by force and by stealth and a tiny fraction of that wealth is re-distributed to the working class while the rest shores up an incredible power base in the hands of a very few. This is EMPIRE. And it is based on strong, negative and very prevalent human characteristics which I and a million others like me could never hope to redirect. I am leaving this country. I don’t want to be caught up in the swirling forces as it all goes flushing down the tubes.
Those Nicaraguans and Mexicans are welcome to that tiny fraction of wealth if they want to come up and claim it. I am sure they will end up like the old Cubans wasting away in the park of a country so alien to the one they knew and in which they were happy.
Edited on May 19, 2008 05:07
Edited on May 19, 2008 05:08
Edited on May 19, 2008 05:12
Well, thanks for that information. I can’t understand how I went so long without having come across this. I wonder how many expats have taken the path to Costa Rican citizenship? I would imagine the only advantages to citizenship would be the opportunity to express gratitude to the host country by contributing to the betterment of Costa Rica via political participation and the permission to work since most of the other benefits would already have been obtained with residency.
I have never felt any sense of debt or gratitude to my birth country. On the contrary, all I have felt towards the U.S. is shame and anger and, on occasion, fear. BUt never pride or gratitude.
Great clip, Tracy. Conservatism is for those who think the world is in great shape and want to preserve the staus quo. Left wing progressive politics is for those who think the world situation could stand some improvement.
Thanks.Edited on May 18, 2008 03:53
He has purchased a large piece of land. I don’t know for sure where but it is somewhere in Guanacaste…where else would big money buy real estate in Costa Rica but Guanacaste.
Grifz77,
fear is is one of the reasons Rwanda arrived at such a sorry state….fear and and the deleterious effects of colonial meddling, a result of greed.Costa Ricans don’t keep an army. Explain how tiny little Costa Rica has not suffered the way Rwanda has. Rwanda is armed to the teeth.
Couldn’t have said it better, Tracy. I can’t wait to leave this three ringed circus and settle down in Costa Rica. It seems to me that most of my countrymen consistently vote against their best interests and in favor of the rich and powerful who have completely bamboozled them.
For me, it’s over. I don’t feel it is possible for the U.S. to change course now. But that doesn’t mean I will stay silent whenever I am confronted with wrong minded, right wing ideology. Mercifully, I have yet to come across that kind of thinking from Ticos…at least not in person. Most seem to be in agreement with my opinion of the U.S. government, either because they live in a more socialist style of government or because they simply wish to avoid confrontation and disagreement out of politeness. Either way, that leaves only other Americans with which to disagree.
On my property there is a stream with two 10 meter high waterfalls. The stream empties into the Rio Grande which borders the property.
The previous owner built a water feed system just above the first waterfall with a one cylinder pump which just sits in the stream. The pump piston is powered by the force of the stream. The pump pushes the water via pipe uphill to a cement trough which runs along a ridge of the gulch. At the end of the trough, there is a small concrete structure, a box like pool, which collects the water which is used to gravity feed a generator. The piston pump still works and when it does kick in, it makes a loud bang sound.
I am very excited about fixing up that system and also installing solar panels. There is a U.S. based company which successfully manufactures panels which do not require the expensive material traditional solar panels require. First Solar is the name and I believe this company is going to be prominent very soon. (I grabbed some stock a while ago and it has grown 654% in 20 months!)
Edited on May 16, 2008 11:23
Don’t forget hydro power. Costa Rica seems to have more waterfalls, streams and rivers than sunlight and wind. There is an old abandoned hydro power set up on my property which I am told was used by the farmer before electricity was brought by cable to the site. It may not be economical to use now, but I think one day will be.
we don’t need as many police, soldiers and lawyers as you may think. Fear is debilitating and a terrible way in which to engage the world.
Wouldn’t the cost of electricity to the consumer vary for the service area in CR? It must have a higher production and distribution cost for consumers along the southern Pacific coast and in other more remote areas than it would for consumers in the Central Valley.
The last I read on this site was that an electricity bill could be as low as $25 a month for a small apartment in the Central Valley. I have little doubt costs have gone up but I am interested in seeing what Scott’s project on cost of living comes up with. Won’t all figures be quite different depending upon the region?
Edited on May 15, 2008 15:09
Edited on May 15, 2008 15:10
Yup. Al Gore’s cousin, Gore Vidal, got it right in that piece from 5 years ago. The one thing I got from that article was Vidal’s belief that it is too late to do anything about changing the course of the United States. I agree with him. I think I’ll leave the repair of the American dream to the younger, more naive and energetic citizens. Let them pound sand while I cultivate a nice little garden on my Costa Rican mountain property.
