He bills himself as an independent, but is definitely right of centre, and prides himself on being bull doggish to both sides and freely admits that lots of people think that he is very arrogant. Imagine Jeremy Clarkson but without any tongue in cheek. I did agree with some of what he said and he is fair to people in terms of his own standards, I just don’t always agree with his standards. One man is relegated to being a Pinhead for various reasons; the first on a long list of bullet points is ‘He’s an atheist’. Here are some of my favourite quotes, they will hopefully give you a flavour of the book and give you a slice of political rhetoric (bearing in mind that I have picked the most laughable/scary bits).
1. “Rugged individualism made this country great, not entitlement programs rigged to provide “income redistribution.” - God forbid income redistribution, the right are so scared of this, that government will take away what they have earned and give it away to people who are not fulfilling the American Dream.
2. “Nowhere on earth does the opportunity to pursue happiness exist on the level that America provides.” If for ‘happiness’ you read ‘money’ then you are getting nearer the truth.
3. “Enough with the entitlement society stuff. America gives us opportunities and most of us do well. Those who don’t or can’t do deserve to be treated fairly but should not expect the rest of us to support them.” I think this needs no comment.
I have tried to summarize what I got from this book but am failing at the moment so I will come back to it.
Anyway, moving on to more exciting things. Hannah picked me up from the airport, which is always a real treat. She drives an Embassy car, a huge, armoured Ford. The windows are all bullet proof and can’t be opened. The tyres have special, hard interiors so that you can drive on them for about half an hour if someone shoots out your tyres. There are little speakers on the outside with a microphone inside in case you need to speak to people on the outside as you are not meant to open the doors if you are stopped. The number plates have blue lettering and a blue stamp on them to indicate that it is a diplomatic car. All very exciting.
All British embassy staff get free accommodation; they are shown a few apartments in a certain price bracket when they arrive and can pick one. Hannah’s apartment is in Polanco, the smart area of Mexico City. A lot of the ‘dips’, as they are known, live in the same areas, the safe areas. The city is not as dangerous as one might think; it’s a case of not doing anything stupid and staying out of the really bad areas. If you go get into a bad taxi they usually just take you to cash machines, get as much money as they can, and then drop you off somewhere.
She also said that due to the past government’s war on drugs, the drug barons have moved from being concentrated in certain areas to being spread over the whole of Mexico. American diplomats who deal with that side of things assume that any person in an official position in the country is controlled by the drug barons; it might be unwittingly, maybe their family is paying protection money without them knowing, or they have been allowed to remain in their position by the barons.
Hannah had to spend a few hours in the office so I happily had a nap in her really nice apartment. It has two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a dining area and then upstairs living area. And lots of light, which is a nice change for me. I walked to the Embassy to meet Hannah for lunch. On the way I passed a rubbish truck; there six people working on it; one driver, three collecting and two standing in the rubbish sorting it. Although Hannah says that there is no recycling they seemed to be putting large bottles in one compartment, cardboard boxes were tucked underneath the truck, bags were ripped open to reveal their contents. It looked like a stinky job. Apparently the Mexican ethos is about job creation so there will always be extra people doing extra jobs; for example shops have three tills that you have to visit in sequence in order to buy anything, petrol stations always have men to fill your tank, there are lots of street cleaners. This ethos also extends to a propensity to give money to beggars; who are very inventive. At every traffic light there is either someone selling something; dolls, mirrors, food and drink, or an entertainer of some sort, a man juggling flaming batons, an old woman juggling just two balls was my favourite.
There are lots of street vendors, cooking meats of various descriptions, either on the grill or on a vertical, kebab spit, it looks delicious. It is the rainy season in Mexico, so nice and warm during the day with the threat of a tropical storm in the evening. (It didn’t actually rain once whilst I was there which was very unusual).
My first tourist activity of many was a trip to the pyramids at Teotihuacan, the most visited archeological site in Mexico. We drove out of the city, which goes on and on. Hannah says that some of the rural areas in Mexico are very poor, Mexico City is a bubble that lures visitors into a false sense of wide ranging prosperity. Although Mexico does have a booming economy the money has not yet made its way into the depths of the countryside.
Teotihuacan was a huge city in about 100BC but now it is mainly two huge pyramids representing the sun and the moon and surrounding ruins. The altitude (just over 7,000ft, similar to around Lake
A cup of tea, biscuits and some Olympic coverage. Then we walked through Polanco past swanky restaurants, bars and shops, lots of wedding dress shops. Much of the city feels like Argentina, slightly grubbier in places, but the same style of building. Big square blocks without much charm. We went to a restaurant famous for its huge cocktail glasses full of Margarita. More meaty, cheesy, beany food wrapped in a corn based receptacle. I slept like a log.
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