Good...afternoon?

Yes, I have slept past noon. I hate that. The day is too short and I could have done something this morning. Well, maybe I can do something in the middle of the night again.

I was listening to the news and they were talking about that poor girl who is missing in Aruba. I understand WHY they keep reporting all the non-facts, they want to keep the pressure up on the Aruban authrorities. I even understand the frustration regarding the handling of the entire situation. What I DON'T get is the arrogance of the American authorities. They report that Aruba doesn't want to use the American methods as though they were reporting the details of an American criminal. WE believe that we have the best legal system in the world, but the rest of the world doesn't bow to us nor should they. Perhaps they are less experienced and I would even admit that they might be covering something up. But...when you leave America, your passport tells you that you're pretty much on your own. Rather than making the Aruban authorities out to be the bad guys, why isn't anyone chastizing the chaperones who were supposed to be caring for these kids? There isn't anything we can do to help Natalee, but we can certainly stay away from Aruba and let their economy crash. See how much they want to protect those boys once the hotels are empty. There are too many Carribean Islands to choose from...just don't go to Aruba.

In the meantime, we can't impose our system on theirs. And we shouldn't fault them for doing things their own way. We don't have to like it, but we have to allow it unless we want to declare America the police department of the world. That kind of thinking is getting us into more and more trouble everyday. We ARE a melting pot, the rest of the world isn't and we have no right to impose our will on them.

I think that far too many Americans think that the entire planet should do things the same way we do things. Most every nation's citizens think that their country is the greatest place that there is. The fact that we have more resources doesn't make us right. Even if we are right on any given topic, we judge based on our own experience and people who come from totally different cultures have their own point of view and as the Declaration says, "We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights." The "We" in that sentence referred to humans in general, not just those humans born on American soil. So, unless it affects us, (or unless there is a major humanitarian crisis) we have no business meddling in the affairs of other states.

In addition, I have to wonder if we would even be hearing about this as much if that kid wasn't a beautiful white girl with blonde hair. Is it just a coincidence that we only hear about mssing white girls with blonde hair...I can't believe that there isn't an ocassional missing child who doesn't match that description. But, I must say that my heart goes out to her and to her family and I sincerely hope for her safe return.

We smugly report that "those Arubans do things differently...we would have had answers by now" in the same week that Michael Jackson was cleared of molestation charges. Our legal system has let more than one obviously guilty murderer go free so I don't see where anyone should be so dreadfully arrogant about this wonderful legal system. We don't put rich people in jail for any length of time as compared to what we do to poor people. All a rich person has to do is hire one of those "attorneys for the blantantly guilty" and they can rest assured that they will walk. OJ Simpson, Robert Blake and (Insert a first name ) Kennedy are shining examples of what can happen if you have millions with which to defend yourself.

So, would we have answers in this country? Not if the suspects were people like Jon Benet Ramsey's parents. We brag about our Bill of Rights and the right to remain silent and then we judge people who excercise that right to be guilty simply by virture of the fact that they took advantage of that right. I was speaking to a narcotics detective while I was in Vermont and I made the assertion that, "The jails would be almost empty if more people did clam up while being interrogated". He totally agreed with me. The cops don't like it when a criminal excercises that right...but it IS still a right.

So, the Aruban authorities can't get anything out of these suspects. American authorities didn't get anything out of the Ramseys either. Does that make them "bad" police? Nope. It just makes them have to do their job without the assistance of the suspects. If ever I were to commit a crime, I would excercise my right to remain silent and I would think that most people would do so as well.

Oh, another thing that detective told me...If a person planned a crime well, he/she would most likely get away with it. He said that based on his 25 years of experience so I trust that he knows of what he speaks. That doesn't make the cops bad at their jobs, it just makes the crooks good at what THEIRS.

I'm curious, what do you guys think of this situation? Do you think that the Arubans should step aside and let America take over the investigation? Will you be going to Aruba anytime in the future? And, if an American travels out of the jurisdiction of the FBI, should they expect the FBI to come to their assistance?

One more thought...how many Americans are missing all over the world that we never hear about?

Meg