Monthly Archives: April 2014

Costa Rican Distrust of U.S. Foreign Policy

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We were vacationing in Costa Rica when a tour guide on our bus surprised us by announcing that President Obama had refused to help Costa Rica after Nicaragua had moved large numbers of soldiers into Costa Rica for the purpose of “building a new canal.” The guide said Costa Rica has no military and had asked President Obama for help. He then said Mr. Obama’s reaction was to continue his policy of bowing to every belligerent. He emphasized the point by making a series of stiff bows in several directions.  The guide said the people of Costa Rica continue to appreciate Ronald Regan and his support for the Contras who fought against the Communist Sandinistas. The guide explained that Daniel Ortega, the Communist ruler of Nicaragua, continues to have designs on Costa Rica, and that the U.S. refused to help. “The Canadians helped and the Nicaraguans withdrew.”

I was fascinated with the story, and began searching the Internet to educate myself. President Obama visited Costa Rica for two days in May 2013. The descriptions of his visit were mostly about the extreme security measures taken for his protection. There were a few hundred people allowed to view his limousine trip through the capital city. A few dozen gathered in the city park to protest the visit. Most complied with the order to stay home and watch television coverage. This is in contrast to John F. Kennedy visiting and wading into adoring crowds. Kennedy is called the “most beloved U.S. President” based on the memories of his visit and the Peace Corp. Continue reading →

David and Goliath

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Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
By Malcolm Gladwell

david and goliathThis book uses David and Goliath as a metaphor, but it’s not the metaphor you might expect.  Gladwell spends some time explaining the story and its setting in the ancient world, with notes on the surprising amount of scholarly research devoted to it. We modern Americans misunderstand the story’s intent and have the original message wrong.

 

David_and_Goliath public domain

Public Domain in the US: copyright expired

We think of David as a hopeless underdog facing an unbeatable foe, saved only by divine intervention.  “No one in ancient times would have doubted David’s tactical advantage once it was known he was an expert in slinging.”  Gladwell writes that soldiers trained to use sling shots were as formidable as archers.  Goliath was a heavily armored infantry warrior and there was no way he could chase down and engage David; he was a sitting duck. (He may have also had acromegaly: speculation on the diseases of historical figures is always intriguing, even if they are seldom provable.)  I found this part of the book surprisingly interesting and fun; much better than the “favorite Bible stories for children” sort of idea I had before. Continue reading →

On the Lam

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William Safire wrote in the New York Times in 1998 that on the lam means “running away” or “being a fugitive from the law…” “The origin of the expression is in heated dispute among slang etymologists.” Allan Pinkerton, the first “private eye” said that pickpockets would say “lam” when they secured a wallet from a victim.” There is a Scandinavian verb lam that as early as 1525 was used to describe a wife “lamming him,” meaning to beat, pound, or strike” her husband. Mark Twain used the term twice to mean “to beat” in both instances. The connection is that “…to avoid a feared lamming (related to slamming), one lams. “