There is no doubting the economic storm that is blowing at hurricane force around the world these days. It’s a real mess out there! Being in Costa Rica does not make one immune either, especially when that someone is in the travel business. I don’t think I am speaking alone in saying that business lately has been just miserable. However, being in Costa Rica does make weathering the storm a bit more tolerable. For one thing here we are not inundated by bad economic news 24/7. It is not the major topic of every news program, or major newspaper headline. Nor is it the topic of every conversation with the neighbor or stranger in the street. The U.S. over the last few decades has become almost a completely media driven country. Yes I know that it is the media’s job to keep the people informed. But it is not their job to keep them brainwashed and hypnotized. The truth is that the news media exerts far too much influence on what actually happens in the U.S. and that goes beyond mere reporting. The media may not instigate every newsworthy occurrence, but they certainly perpetuate it. That goes with presidential elections and the economy and almost every other facet of life. How can one not seriously say that the media played the major role in the election of Barack Obama (please note that I am not saying his election was a bad thing, just pointing out the fact that the media elected him). These days one can perpetrate a horrible act of violence on one’s own loved ones and immediately gain instant notoriety in the media (consider the case of the mother of that poor child, Caylee Anthony). Do you not seriously think that a deranged psychopath is not encouraged by the fact that he (or she) can gain instant fame through unspeakable violence. And no where is the media influence felt more than in the economy. The media has blabbered on and on about how bad the economy is until they have now triggered national depression. No one even wants to get out of bed and get out there to make things better, because the media makes us all feel that the effort would be futile…..better to stay in bed and watch TV! It is a little maddening (and that is coming from a TV news addict). Even though here in Costa Rica the U.S. cable media outlets such as CNN and Fox are available, one can easily escape by switching to local channel 7 where one can learn how to make superb tamales. Yes the economic storm is brewing out there and no one is immune. The U.S. economy is the proverbial 800 pound gorilla and right now she is throwing an “economic fit” with worldwide reverberations. At least in Costa Rica the grumblings of our own Arenal Volcano drown out her rants. In the poetic word’s of Bob Dylan…..
Well, I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line.
Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I’ll make it mine.
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born.
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
The storm will pass, it always does. But sometimes just being far enough away to be on the outside looking in can be a reason to love Costa Rica. Thanks Costa Rica for providing a little shelter from the storm.
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