New US Ambassador Will Not Attend July 4th Celebration

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  • #164370
    Andrew
    Keymaster

    Just read this letter on one of the local websites and would love to hear your feedback…

    ——————————–
    Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

    “I just read in A.M. Costa Rica that the new U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica will not attend the community’s 4th of July celebration. I am sorry to disagree with the ambassador who is following his strong religious beliefs restricting his activities on a Saturday.

    I feel that no matter what beliefs an ambassador has, he is the representative of the United States and the president. For that ambassador to not attend his country’s primary celebration of its founding sends a negative message regarding his commitment to his country.

    This ambassador is also missing the opportunity to meet many of his fellow Americans so soon after his arrival. As one of them, I feel this shows us that we should not expect his strong support regarding our concerns or problems. I am not criticizing the ambassador’s religion or denigrating his strong beliefs, but I feel that in this instance, the ambassador is making an error in judgment by putting those ahead of his country.”
    ——————————–

    The 4th of July is all about celebrating the declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776 (Don’t blame me please! I was not there!) Independence day is the one and only National Day and as such is a pretty important holiday in the United States.

    [img]https://www.welovecostarica.com/public/images/Ambassador.jpg [/img]

    [size=200]What do you think? Is this right? Even if the new US Ambassador to Costa Rica is now an Orthodox Jew should he not be expected to attend the 4th July celebration?[/size]

    The Ambassador’s biography page on [url=http://www.allgov.com/news/appointments-and-resignations/us-ambassador-to-costa-rica-who-is-s-fitzgerald-haney-140802?news=853858]AllGov.com is here.[/url]

    #164371
    Imxploring
    Participant

    While respecting the man’s religious beliefs and qualifications he really is getting off on the wrong foot! His position and its responsibilities are a 24/7 gig! Having just been confirmed and placed this was the perfect opportunity for him to let all Americans in CR know what his level commitment was…. or in this case is not. If being completely unavailable 7 days of the week was an issue…. perhaps he, or the folks responsible for his appointment, should not have placed him in this position. He can always go back to banking…. they get all the holidays and weekends off!

    Sad example and a bad start in my mind…. but not unlike the entire regime which sent him here in the first place.

    #164372
    pixframe
    Participant

    His religious beliefs don’t allow him to attend a Saturday event. With that in mind, the question should be why did President Obama nominate him and the U.S. Senate confirm the nomination?

    #164373
    VictoriaT
    Member

    Is he an observant Jew? Then he can attend an evening event on Saturday and should. Otherwise SHAME SHAME SHAME

    #164374
    pixframe
    Participant

    Yes, his wife is a Rabbi.

    #164375
    Romanotico
    Member

    Well, I’m not a US citizen, but the religion of the new ambassador is the same as the religion of many leading people in the US (media, finance, industry and politics). No suprise then, I just feel sorry and yes, it is a big shame. The US, and many other countries like Costa Rica claim they are lay states… actually they’re not, as religion is present everywhere.

    #164376
    taoprod
    Member

    Your comments are very offensive.

    #164377
    VictoriaT
    Member

    Ahh. Thank you for clearing that up. As an observant Jew, of course he won’t attend daytime celebrations. Lets hope that he will attend some sort of gathering after sunset on Saturday.

    It’s nice to know that our ambassador has respect for himself and his religious beliefs. No one can fault him for that.

    And the “shame” comment was only if his attendance had no relation to his religious beliefs. Read carefully people

    #164378
    Jerry
    Member

    If you cannot perform your obvious duties as a US rep., move out of the way for someone who can.

    #164379
    Romanotico
    Member

    Procter and Gamble, Citi Group, then politics…. one more example of the very deleterious “revolving doors” system…

    #164380
    sprite
    Member

    people with ANY religious affiliation should be banned from politics. People with any political affiliation should be banned from religion. To save all of us from any more disasters, religion and politics should be banned.

    #164381
    Romanotico
    Member

    I’d say the same for people in politics – business….. revolving doors should be banned. Lobbying as well.

    #164382
    earthmuffin
    Member

    He should never have been appointed to this position if he has religious issues that would result in conflict with his duties. What a go Barack, another brilliant move on the part of our government. Lived in several foreign countries,
    the ambassador and his family were always at our 4th of July celebrations.

    #164383
    zuristar
    Member

    I agree with an earlier writer with the perspective that Jews can participate after sundown on Saturdays. As a representative of the United States, he should make it publicly known that while his religious beliefs may prevent him from participating on Saturdays before sundown, aftwards it would be appropriate for him to participate and lead July 4th observances as his office requires.

    #164384
    innkeeper12
    Member

    I do not care or try to judge anyone’s personal beliefs. If you truly are a practicing “fill in the blank” then I hope you follow your beliefs. We are very hung up in the US at this time trying to coerce certain beliefs (yes I am not only a Christian but a Catholic.) into political policy and it is a slippery slope. Hopefully we can be more forgiving and thoughtful and less judgemental
    WHICH IS WHY I WANT TO MOVE TO EITHER COSTA RICA, PANAMA OR ECUADOR!

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