We’ve heard the justifications before. We’ve heard statistics, of dubious merit, relating to life expectancy and literacy. We’ve heard about the “miracle” of Cuban health care. Great, let’s take all of those things to be true for one minute ask ourselves some logical questions:
If things are so great in Cuba
Why is the only media permitted on the island of a government/communist party nature?
Why is internet access restricted and censored for normal Cubans?
Why aren’t foreigners and Cubans allowed to mingle freely?
Why are there no political parties in Cuba other than the communist party?
Why aren’t there presidential elections?
Why do people risk their lives to leave the country in droves?
Why is there a lottery for US visas?
Why does it bother the Cuban government so much that there is news ticker in the US Interests section?
Why does the dropping of pamphlets of differing points of view amount to a capital offense?
The answer, for anyone with two brain cells to rub together, to these questions is simple. The current system of government in Cuba is a fraud of the greatest magnitude. It can not win a real debate in the so-called battle of ideas. If it could then they would encourage the debate instead of stifling it.
Every day the international news media expects us to believe that Fidel Castro has been in power for 47 years because that’s exactly what Cubans want. Even FDR, one of America’s greatest presidents, wore out his welcome and his four terms resulted in a constitutional amendment limiting presidents to two terms.
They expect us to believe that there is nobody in Cuba that disagrees with the government and that its the US that stifles dissent even though in our country you can pitch a tent across from the White House and say whatever you want. You can even buy a parcel of land near the president’s home and hold as many protests as you want. But everyone in Cuba is perfectly happy?
The fact is that the media in this country thinks we are fools. And truth be told many among us are fools as judging by some of the emails and comments I get regularly.
fidel castro is a coward. He knows he isn’t popular. That’s why he must keep the people of his island on an information island. That’s why he can’t allow people to think for one minute that they have A RIGHT to disagree with ANYTHING. That’s why he can’t allow any new ideas to take root.
It’s time for everyone who is reading this to take action by writing/emailing/calling the news media and demand that they cover Cuba and repression and the opposition with as much fervor, skepticism inquisitiveness as they cover other issues.
I couldn’t agree more, and Net for Cuba makes it easy by providing a long list of media outlet links. Have at them, please.
http://www.netforcuba.org/SpeakOut/worldwidepress.htm
Our media should spend more time criticizing fidel, his dictatorship and his alcoholic brother than they spend on negatively talking about our President, Iraq and the Cuban exiles!!!