On August 20th of 2010 I posted #365 of my 365 Reasons I Love Costa Rica. That blog had been a labor of love for me for over two years. However, like most good things, they usually have to reach their end. But that "end" can mark a new beginning, a "nuevo comienzo" as my Spanish-speaking friends might say. So here it is, Costa Rica Guy's new blog. In it I plan to divulge the countless varieties of ways one can make a difference, here in Costa Rica, or wherever you might find yourself in the moment. I hope you enjoy reading it half as much as I know I will enjoy writing it.
In addition to running a travel business arranging Costa Rica vacations, I also operate both a physical and online store that sells Costa Rican indigenous arts and crafts. One of those indigenous groups is the Bribris of the Talamanca region located in the extreme southern Caribbean zone. I had the good fortune of finding a contact with the tribe here in San Jose during the art fair earlier this year. He put me in touch with Timoteo Jackson, a local tribal leader. We made a visit into the reserve to meet Timoteo. The experience was very eye-opening. We saw how proud these people are of their culture, as a Bribri youth group put on a theatrical presentation of the legendary struggle between a cacique (or, chief) named Pa-blu Presbere and the Spanish Conquistadors in the early 1,700's. We also saw that the region was largely impoverished. Many Bribris that we couldn't see and who live in remote mountainous areas, are in need of a bridge out of a desperate situation. Enter Barry Stevens and Nanci Wright and their organization appropriately known as El Puente, or The Bridge. Their organization is bringing much needed assistance to the indigenous of this area in the form of helping parents get their kids into school and keep them there, providing food and a way of making a living through microloans. And, most importantly, giving them hope. El Puente offers a number of ways to get involved, from donations to rolling up one's sleeves and getting to work on some project in the reserve. Their approach at fostering both community and individual growth is refreshing, as well as their attention to helping the Bribris pass on their culture to future generations. For more information about getting involved with El Puente, see their web site link below.
I have to admit the "Restore Honour" rally that Glenn Beck organized last Saturday at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial was impressive. I believe the estimates are that around 500,000 were in attendance. There was no small bit of controversy surrounding the event, especially since it coincided with the anniversary of Martin Luther King's historic "I have a Dream" speech at that very same location, 47 years earlier. One thing that did strike me, however, was that the crowd was extremely white. Not too far away, another rally was being held. This one organized by Reverend Al. Sharpton. The news reports covering that event showed a crowd that was overwhelmingly black. So my question is this, what did these exercises really prove after all? It seems to me that the contrast in color proves that the U.S. is still a highly divided country. Is there really any honour in that? So for my very first post in my new blog I want to float this idea. And that is, that no matter how much you talk about honour and how many times you mention God, or Jesus, in a speech, it doesn't detract from the true message that is sent when 500,000 gather who are 90% white, while a competing crowd gathers nearby who are more than 90% black (I am guessing at the percentages, but from what I could see, I doubt that I am too far off the mark). It is the same message that was sent during my high school basketball games back in the 70's in Shallotte, North Carolina, when all the blacks sat on one side of the gymnasium and all the whites on the other side. It is the same message that is sent in virtually every church on every Sunday morning across the nation, where people of like color gather to worship a color-blind God. There is no conciliation or reconciliation in that message. It is one of division and it is one of racial tension... the exact opposite of what Dr. King was trying to envoke with his memorable and historic speech. I got to give it to Beck. He was surprisingly nice during the event and received glowing marks from even some of his detractors, but the message sent by the multitudes that clamoured after his and Sarah Palin's every word, is just more of the same. Honor will be restored in "America" when folks who look the same and think the same find it in themselves to at least try to understand those who look and think differently. Rather than restoring honour, to me it seems that Beck accomplished more along the lines of rubbing condiments into old wounds.
