Tom Keske
2016-11-26 21:26:39 UTC
FIDEL CASTRO
A political wake-up that I will always remember was reading a
book passage about Latin America, without knowing who the
author was. Nice thing about not knowing who is speaking
is that you are removed from any biases about the content
that might be based on knowledge of the speaker. The writing
seemed to be refreshingly articulate, insightful and humanist
as it talked about the roles of exploitation and imperialism
affecting Latin America.
The writer was Fidel Castro. That was a wake-up to how
maligned and misunderstood Castro and Che had been in the
propaganda of the American media and political system.
U.S. media have long portrayed Fidel and Che was if they
were unwashed, crude barbarians, but the reality is that
they were both intelligent, well-read and articulate.
It is a shame that America now seems destined to have a
President who is crude and shows clear hints of barbarism,
and who will reverse the long-overdue warming of relations
with Cuba.
It is ironic that same fundamental, underlying force that
produced Castro and Che, in a sense produced Trump. That
force being the abuse of common workers by cynical corporate
powers.
In America's case, the key difference is that the people
have fallen for an opportunist who is really representing
spoiled wealth and privilege, not a true "working class hero."
Indications thus far are that Trump in practice will represent
the interests of the extremely wealthy, like himself. Further,
he will probably attempt to suppress opponents and critics more
on a par with his admired friend, Vladimir Putin.
Hate groups will probably attack minorities with token disavowal
by government, when they are in reality operating as little
more than proxies.
Castro would have had some genuine need to defend the hard-won
revolution against counter-revolutionaries and infiltrators
that the CIA surely would have sent, just as they made their
frequent assassination attempts. With Trump, his actions will be
more just for sake of power-hunger and consolidation of power.
When a dictator consolidates power, elections can become a
sham. Suppression of news can manipulate public opinion and
sheer intimidation can do the rest. I can only hope that if
it comes to that, Americans who realize the situation might
come to see that they cannot always hope to restore a
sane government within the workings of a rigged system, and
might be forced to sacrifice personal safety to adopt the
approach of Fidel and Che- the only means possible against
men who have sunken to the level of torturers and a
military that has become a murderous tool of domination.
I hope that Cuba in years to come will adopt a fully
democratic system that answers to the will of the people
and will enjoy economic improvement that keeps the best
aspects of its existing system, without succumbing to
the same problems that plague the American system and
have resulted in such political deterioration.
Tom Keske
A political wake-up that I will always remember was reading a
book passage about Latin America, without knowing who the
author was. Nice thing about not knowing who is speaking
is that you are removed from any biases about the content
that might be based on knowledge of the speaker. The writing
seemed to be refreshingly articulate, insightful and humanist
as it talked about the roles of exploitation and imperialism
affecting Latin America.
The writer was Fidel Castro. That was a wake-up to how
maligned and misunderstood Castro and Che had been in the
propaganda of the American media and political system.
U.S. media have long portrayed Fidel and Che was if they
were unwashed, crude barbarians, but the reality is that
they were both intelligent, well-read and articulate.
It is a shame that America now seems destined to have a
President who is crude and shows clear hints of barbarism,
and who will reverse the long-overdue warming of relations
with Cuba.
It is ironic that same fundamental, underlying force that
produced Castro and Che, in a sense produced Trump. That
force being the abuse of common workers by cynical corporate
powers.
In America's case, the key difference is that the people
have fallen for an opportunist who is really representing
spoiled wealth and privilege, not a true "working class hero."
Indications thus far are that Trump in practice will represent
the interests of the extremely wealthy, like himself. Further,
he will probably attempt to suppress opponents and critics more
on a par with his admired friend, Vladimir Putin.
Hate groups will probably attack minorities with token disavowal
by government, when they are in reality operating as little
more than proxies.
Castro would have had some genuine need to defend the hard-won
revolution against counter-revolutionaries and infiltrators
that the CIA surely would have sent, just as they made their
frequent assassination attempts. With Trump, his actions will be
more just for sake of power-hunger and consolidation of power.
When a dictator consolidates power, elections can become a
sham. Suppression of news can manipulate public opinion and
sheer intimidation can do the rest. I can only hope that if
it comes to that, Americans who realize the situation might
come to see that they cannot always hope to restore a
sane government within the workings of a rigged system, and
might be forced to sacrifice personal safety to adopt the
approach of Fidel and Che- the only means possible against
men who have sunken to the level of torturers and a
military that has become a murderous tool of domination.
I hope that Cuba in years to come will adopt a fully
democratic system that answers to the will of the people
and will enjoy economic improvement that keeps the best
aspects of its existing system, without succumbing to
the same problems that plague the American system and
have resulted in such political deterioration.
Tom Keske