viva fidel bashing

by Aaron Rodriguez

Published: February 21, 2008

From the Fox news office in New York to the streets of Miami, a cheerful song is being sung.

Ding-dong the witch is dead! Which old witch? The Wicked Witch!

Which wicked witch are they singing about? Why Fidel Castro of course. Unfortunately for the media he isn’t dead, but he’s done the next best thing. By stepping down Fidel has provided Washington with a prime opportunity to remind everyone that he’s the most despicable man alive. Far be it from me to defend a man who has done his part to tarnish the name and reputation of socialism, but the media frenzy that swells up when the man so much as coughs is repugnant.

I personally never understood why Fidel was so special. In the time he’s been running Cuba, dozens of dictators have sprung up all around the world. For some reason despots in Africa, South America and Asia aren’t nearly as important as Castro. Forget all the central African thugocracies, we have to focus on Cuba. Why? Because a bunch of rich people that fled the island set up a rather powerful voting bloc.

Isn’t that the real reason we hate Castro? Rich people on both sides lost money, so now Castro is a Latino Stalin. Now, this isn’t to slight poor Cuban-Americans. Not everyone who has a beef with Castro came from a rich (or formerly rich) family. Even still, the vehement hatred against the man is the direct result of American propaganda. They’ve created an image of a nation that’s nothing more than a gulag. People get snatched off the street for simply thinking anti-Castro thoughts, and everyone is miserable and down-trodden.

Of course it seems that way to Americans; we enjoy a level of freedom that most people on Earth will never experience. But for a good portion of people in the third world, Cuba is a step up. Universal healthcare and a quality education are things some people can only dream about. Honestly, from what I’ve seen, people who are products of the Cuban educational system were exposed to a more rigorous education than many people who go to inner-city schools in the US. Not to mention, their human development index is higher than many other nations on earth. In the past half century, they’ve made numerous advances despite facing a crippling trade embargo. But from the logic of American politicians and journalists, because Cubans can’t own HD-TVs and eat ungodly amounts of junk food- Cuba is a hell hole.

When talking to people who visit Cuba, more often than not they are amazed at how pleasant their experience was. Very rarely does someone gloss over the grimier aspects of the island, but they never characterize it as being any different than some of the other nations they’ve visited. Realistically, Cuba is a nation in the middle. It isn’t the greatest nation on earth, but it certainly isn’t the worst. And the things that most Americans criticize about Cuba are small potatoes compared to other nations that go unnoticed. This doesn’t excuse any of Cuba’s problems, but it’s time we started putting Castro’s rule in perspective.

After hearing the news about Castro, President Bush stated, “The United States will help the people of Cuba realize the blessings of liberty.” The problem with such rhetoric is the notion that liberty can be so easily encapsulated. Liberty, freedom, justice and other such words have no inherent meaning. It’s the reason so many people were shocked when “democracy” didn’t take hold in Iraq as easily as we’d hoped. It is the responsibility of Cubans in Cuba to determine how they wish to proceed. There is no question, however, that US politicians and Cuban-American lobbyists will try to direct the nation to suit their own desires. They say they want Cubans to determine their own destinies, but what happens when parties form and a socialist is elected president? Do they stand back and respect the people’s choice. Or do they continue to try to subvert the efforts of Cuban leftists? Some Americans have really started to buy in to the propaganda; they really believe that every Cuban is yearning for American style capitalism and the only thing that’s stopping them is Fidel. Time can only tell how this will turn out; one thing is for sure, though. The media circus is only beginning.

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