I understand that the regime of Fidel Castro was far from ideal--but we have relationships with Saudi Arabia and China, and were cozy enough with Egypt's Mubarek, who was not a saint. Also, someone explain to me how you protest Communism with an economic embargo? It seems like the capitalistic way would be to want trade. They export cigars--we export capitalism. Works for me.
I feel like opposition to normalizing relations with our near neighbor is a case of living in the past. It isn't 1961 anymore. We can kiss the Cold War goodbye--or even just shake hands and let it go.
4 comments:
The American fixation with "communism" - even thought very few Americans actually know what it is - runs very deep. Sure, we hate muslims, and we have a problem with various other non-white/anglo populations, but the consensus among the unwashed and illiterate is we should always be at war with communists.
Plus, it's another lesson that in every kind of international conflict, it's WAY easier to get in than it is to get out...
That's about exactly right. I've seen "socialist", "communist" and "national socialist" (WTF?) used interchangeably as if these aren't separate concepts of economics and the relationship of government thereto. (I'm bringing back "thereto". Part of my 2015 gameplan.) These terms just came to mean "the enemy". Once Cuba had the "black hat" laid on, valued traditions stated it must remain a "black hat" nation.
I dunno. There has to be more meaning to our international associations than symbolic haberdashery.
The American right supported the sanctions because they believe in hurting people. The Shah of Iran was at least as evil as Castro but because he was "against" Communism the US supported his regime.
Hi Vixen, my experience is that the far left has been as naive about communism as the right. Very few can tell the difference between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. It's surprising that people still toy with this system today. Years ago there was a big distinction between capitalists and the proletariat. Today the kid at the Kroger's down the street has part of his 401(k) in the S&P 500. Today he is a capitalist. Most pension funds of ordinary Americans are invested in the financial markets. Today we are all de facto capitalists. There is no selection of categories that fit in the communist selection.
For example, Sarah Palin is definitely a member of the proletariat. She worked on her husband's fishing boat; she started out with nothing. In the old days she would be regarded as proletariat who had moved up to the Central Committee from the grassroots. Just like Lenin wanted.
John Boehner (not my favorite person) had 12 brothers and sisters and grew up working in his father's bar. John Boehner is a member of the proletariat who has risen to be a member of the Politburo.
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