Monday, December 26, 2005

This is the End

Well folks ... I received an official reprimand from the Peace Corps last Friday concerning my blog. Specifically the charge was not having the blog approved by the Peace Corps Country Director, and not having a disclaimer on the site. I was also told that the content on the site was not appropriate and to go and change it. No other Peace Corps member with a blog or website was given an official reprimand. It turns out that someone in Washington D.C. read the blog and decided that they did not like it. After reviewing the content I have decided that it is only subjective reasoning that can determine what is and is not appropriate and I am unable and unwilling to classify my personal opinions as inappropriate material. Therefore, I have decided that instead of censoring myself, I would rather retain the privilege of my First Amendment rights. But, by doing this I am canceling the blog in order to avoid any further confrontation with the Peace Corps or the U.S. government. That being said ... I will continue my JOURNAL in e-mail form. The government and the Peace Corps have no right to restrict my private correspondence, and there are no regulations that stipulate as such. Therefore, if any of you would like to receive my e-mail JOURNAL (not a publication) you may e-mail me at ratborne77@yahoo.com to request to be put on my PRIVATE correspondence list. Please include in the subject line I AGREE, which means that you agree to the following Terms and Conditions.

Terms and Conditions:
The contents of the e-mail journal are mine and mine alone and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps. In addition, the journal does reflect my observations and experiences of being an outsider in a foreign country. Therefore, although I will try to retain a measure of cultural sensitivity it should be considered that cultural observations are subjective and could be construed as offensive, although it should be noted that it is NOT the author’s intent to be offensive to anyone. Also, please try to understand that much of the contents are written with humor and should be taken as such. In addition, political topics will be discussed and try to be reported objectively, although with humor. The author is not identifying himself with the political affairs of Tonga or the United States, but does reserve the right to reflect his own opinions of the government or certain institutions. Finally, although the author may make certain observations of religion in Tonga and America, he is not engaging in any proselytizing. The e-mail journal consists simply of the opinions and observations of the author in Tonga and tries to make some sense of the meaning of life in a foreign country. Take it as you will.