A Stronger Democracy Would Permit It
Those of us who have been to Cuba and who have studied its people for decades are aware of a nearby very significant island that is quite foreign to most Americans. It is, in fact, the only place in the world that everyday Americans are not free to visit. And, yes, for the most part since the overthrow of the vile Batista-Mafia dictatorship way back in 1959, the reconstitution of that dictatorship on U. S. soil has tightly controlled or at least direly influenced what Americans are told about Cuba, both its history and its modernity. That basic fact, of course, says more about the U. S. government and the U. S. media than it says about the anachronistic Cuban government or the one-dimensional Cuban media. But there are elements of truth to the Cuban equation that even Americans can access, if they desire. For example, we who have been to Cuba and have studied its people are not surprised at the above photo taken this week in Havana by Franklin Reyes for the Associated Press. It shows a Cuban motorist with side-by-side Cuban and American flags prominently displayed in his vehicle. While the two governments have been actually or virtually at war for the past 54 years, if you could venture to Cuba and judge for yourself, you would observe a palpable fact: Everyday Cubans to this day remain very fond of everyday Americans and they still admire the U. S. democracy that, after the Spanish-American War in 1898, had a glorious opportunity to gift the island with a real nice and sweet democracy of its own but shamefully abused that opportunity. Instead of mandating democracy after the U. S. replaced Spain as the imperialist power in control of Cuba, right-wing American power-brokers and greedy capitalists decided that a democracy would not permit them to rape and rob the island at will. So, from 1898 till 1959 Cuba was beset with a harrowing series of corrupt leaders and brutal dictatorships that would, via kick-backs as well as direct unfathomable mandates from Washington, allow rich Americans to rape and rob the island at will.
Contrary to fabrications of U. S. - Cuban history, America's dominance of the island from 1898 till 1959 provided rich Americans with a lush piggy-bank while creating cesspools of poverty for the helpless, majority Cubans. In 2013, it's time the U. S. democracy, without obfuscations or outright lies, admitted it.
The uniqueness of the U. S. - backed Batista rule from 1952 till 1959 evolved when Cuba was subjected to what amounted to a triangular dictatorship composed of the U. S., Batista, and the Mafia. Batista had lucrative partnerships with both of his prime supporters. U. S. tax dollars kept Batista's treasury and military in excellent shape so U. S. businesses could siphon off the island's resources; the Mafia controlled the incredibly profitable gambling, drug, and prostitution rackets. The 1950s casino ad above appropriately promoted an appearance by George Raft, a reputed Mafia figure who also was famous for playing Mafia figures in major Hollywood movies! So naturally George was among the celebrities allowed to partake in the wholesale rape and robbery of the island...actually right up until the early morning hours of January 1, 1959, when getaway ships, boats, and airplanes finally took precedence over gluttony.
The above photo was taken in Havana in 1954. It depicts a peasant family right after they had been informed that their home would be destroyed the next day to make room for the casino already going up in the background. Of course, the family was told to fend for itself. The United States, the powerful neighbor, could have prevented these things but, instead, supported such abominable behavior.
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., one of America's greatest Pulitzer Prize-winning historians, died in 2007 at age 89. He wrote about "the dark, vulgar underpinnings coarsening through our Cuban relations."
In 1957 Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. was a top presidential advisor. In that capacity, according to such sources as the Wikipedia biography of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, Schlesinger was asked to analyze Batista's Cuba. He provided this precise answer: "The corruption of the government, the brutality of the police, the regime's indifference to the needs of the people for education, medical care, housing, for social justice and economic justice is an open invitation to revolution." So, beyond question, the U. S. government was well aware of what the Batista-Mafia rule of Cuba was all about...and continued to support it because it didn't believe any revolution could threaten a U. S - backed dictatorship. But, beyond question, Schlesinger's insightful prophecy defined a meteoric revolution that incredibly DID EXACTLY THAT!
It's known to history as The Cuban Revolution.
In the wee hours of Jan. 1-1959 the Batistiano and Mafia leaders frantically fled Havana. By daylight jubilant Cubans {above} were destroying the ubiquitous casinos that had helped define Batista's Cuba.
Fidel Castro and Celia Sanchez captured Santiago de Cuba and seven days later claimed Havana.
Celia and Fidel on a stopover in Cienfuegos {Jan. 4-1959} on the trek to claim Havana!
From January of 1959 till she died of cancer in January of 1980, Celia Sanchez made the decisions for Cuba -- "The big ones and the small ones," according to long-time insider Roberto Salas. Fidel Castro's prime job was to support her decisions, which he fervently did whether or not he fully agreed with her. Of course, for various self-serving reasons, that basic nuance of Revolutionary Cuba is not supposed to be shared with the American people. In the above photo, Celia appropriately is the studious one while Fidel, also appropriately, is relaxing in his rocking chair with his slippers off. But whatever decision she was concocting, he would defend...come hell or high water! To this very day, he worships her above all others.
On another topic, today's politicians are blamed for a plethora of evil acts and, shamefully, most of the accusations are accurate. But as this Jamaica Observer cartoon gem points out, some are not.
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