Observations from New Year's Eve - Part 1
11 years ago
New Year’s Eve was a busy, crazy and special day. It was like a day that took on a a life of its own, unfolding with a new surprise around every corner. Felt like the day had 6 different chapters to it. However, the part for me which stood out the most was likely the least festive and the most low-key.
In the late afternoon, we had the opportunity to spend some time alongside the proud military men and women serving in the Ecuadorian armed forces. It wasn’t a formal event. It wasn’t a planned event. In fact, the circumstances surrounding the opportunity are, in essence, the reason I bother to write this at all.
For you see, a simple walk along the beach turned into a visit to the local military base here in Salinas. The first of two security check points lay in front of us. We simply strolled up to the gate, armed guards standing at the ready and we walked onto the base. No formal requests for IDs. No armed guards brandishing intimidating weapons. No game of “50 questions”. We simply walked passed the guard point and strode onto the base, just as anyone else could have done on this day.
Once inside, we met a variety of dedicated military personnel. Had the opportunity to chat with them and exchange best wishes for the New Year. There is a little shack bar, where we were able to sit with off duty personnel, enjoy a cold beverage and chat a bit. We walked to the local military base store and had an ice cream. In short, for a couple of hours, we shared some time with the men and women who defend the peace and liberty of Ecuador.
When reflecting on the experience, I couldn’t help but recognize how different an experience this was from my country of origin. Even prior to 9-11, let alone post 9-11, could we imagine just strolling up to the gate of a military base in the USA, flashing a smile and sauntering onto the base? Post 9-11, you’d better have business on the base, or be prepare for a cavity search and full run of every ID imaginable...and then some. The dichotomy was crystal clear - here in Ecuador, I could sit and chat alongside the defenders of the peace and liberty I hold so dear. In the USA, a chasm has been created between “we the people” and the very men and women who stand watch on that line every day and night to preserve the rights of “we the people”. In supposedly “Socialist and repressive” Ecuador, if you follow the western press, a unity and openness is created between the armed forces and the public they serve. In the USA, our defenders and protectors have been assigned an alienated societal role, which seems designed more to protect the “powers that be” from the people, rather than to protect the unalienable rights of those same people. In Ecuador, we have the military as friend and colleague. In the USA, we seem to be establishing a role for the military of detached antagonist.
The distinction is clear. The contrast was driven home yesterday. Thus, on a warm, sunny New Year’s Eve afternoon, in my adopted country, I was able to share a few moments from the “human side of life”, with the proud men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces. All the while recognizing that more than just the geographic distance separated my ability to do the same with the beloved men and women of the proud USA armed forces. Freedom and liberty in “Socialist Ecuador” and isolationism in the “Land of the Free”. How far we have come...and how much longer are we willing to let it go? Viva, Ecuador! A Happy New Year to all.
Hector G. Quintana
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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." -- James Madison
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