usually, the debate concerning cuba revolves around economics or
politics, but the real significance is historical and spiritual.
we all know that the Left lost the Cold War. liberals and even many
leftists were not sad to see the fall of communism, but they were
angry at the trimphalism of the conservatives and the right. no
matter how you slice or dice it, victory over communism was more a
conservative victory than a liberal victory. though liberals have
mostly been anti-communist, both liberalism and communism share
certain philosophical underpinnings. just as defeat of fascism in
WWII was a bigger victory for liberals--despite the fact that most
american conservatives were anti-nazi--, victory in the Cold War was a
much greater victory--economic, philosophical, moral, etc--for cons
than libs.
often, a people are for or against something mainly because of its
significance in relation to one's enemy. so, even a conservative who
may be secular and pro-choice may knee-jerkedly oppose liberal
policies on those issues because he hates liberals.
and, even though many liberals don't wanna see iraq fail when
considered in isolation, they want to see it fail to weaken
republicans. democrats know that troubles in iraq have brought them
back to power. although most liberals want to see iraq succeed, they
also fear that success in iraq will empower republicans. liberals
want to see iraq succeed for iraqis but want to see it fail for their
own power. same is true of the economy. we all want the economy to be
good but also worry about a good economy when our enemy is in power.
so, republicans were both happy and wary of good economic times during
the clinton yrs. and, liberals are both upset and happy about the
current recession. recession may hurt their pocketbooks but may get
them in the white house.
at any rate, winning the Cold War was an huge boost to conservatives.
to steal back some of that thunder, there is the issue of cuba for
liberals and leftists. the reason why liberals want US to blink first
and open up to cuba is that such would partially reverse american
victory in the cold war. it says that while US prevailed over the
Evil Empire, socialist cuba prevailed over the US. just as it was
thrilling for many 'progressives' to see a poor, ragtag north vietnam
defeat the big bad goliath USA, many progressives wanna see US kneel
before poor, beleaguered cuba. it would be a great symbolic victory
for the Left. US, no matter how rich, powerful, and huge, would be
seen as finally blinking first against a small, weak, poor, but
idealistic country. US, no matter how full of material riches, will
have lost to 'revolutionary' cuba, a nation rich in spiritual
commitment and truth despite its material poverty. at a time when
latin america is leaning left, it would be publicity disaster for the
US to blink first.
the triumphal anti-american propaganda upon US's kowtowing to cuba
will go over-the-top. other latin nations will envy cuba as the
nation that defeated--spiritually--the evil and bullying machinations
of big bad yankee.
spiritualism matters; the world is not all nickels and dimes. this is
why che guevara is the MOST FAMOUS latin american. materially, he
didn't do any good but he made many latinos feel proud.
so, the conflict between US and cuba is not about economics. it's a
spiritual battle, and conservatives who fail to see that are idiots.
whether cuba remains communist or not is immaterial. commie cubans
have far more to lose by not doing with business with us than vice
versa.
but, there is tremendous spiritual capital involved with the cuban
crisis. cuba is to US what chechneya is to russia or tibet/taiwan is
to china. cuba is not a part of the US but it has a certain
historical significance to americans. whatever US does with cuba will
have huge repercussions in the whole region. it will show that US can
be spiritually and morally defeated by a poor but committed nation.
worse, there are MANY powerful people in the US--academia and media--
who revere and admire castro and socialism. PBS regularly runs
programs friendly to the 'Revolution'. public school teachers teach
kids about imperialism. hollywood types want US to lose the spiritua
war against cuba.
the core battle between US and USSR was moral and spiritual than
materialist. though USSR lost the material war, marxism isn't
finished. soviet communism is over but spiritual marxism is stronger
than ever because the people who are most powerful in the brain
centers of the US are spiritual marxists. controlling the brain
centers, they also control the way many people--especially young
people--think. why is it that obama's campaign offices are plastered
with posters of che? where did these kids learn about che? from
professors, college meetings, rock stars, etc.
spiritual enemies are far harder to defeat than material enemies.
indeed, vietnam was lost because the communists had spiritual than
material advantage over americans and south vietnamese. americans
gave far more money and weaponry to the south vietnamese than north
got from china and USSR. but, south viets were not willing to fight
because they weren't imbued or instilled with any great faith or
vision. meanwhile, north viets were indoctrianted with powerful
nationalism and a simple-to-understand concept of 'social justice'.
so, all those glib conservatives who see the cuban issue as merely an
economic issue are fools.
of course, some point to vietnam and say, 'look, the gooks who used to
kill us love us now'.
but, there are major differences. vietnamese saw the US as enemy
during the war but their main historical enemy was china. in time,
vietnamese were bound to look elsewhere for aid and trade; initially,
it was the USSR but russkies had little to offer. so, viets looked to
america. also, there were many successful pro-american centers in
asia--singa****e, south korea, japan, taiwan, and even parts of
capitalized china--that could wean vietnam away from communism.
also, fall of vietnam has no direct impact on the americas. it was
something that happened halfway around the globe.
but, cuba is different. what happens in cuba has direct impact on us.
also, many latinos have admired and revered The Revolution of cuba, if
only in spirit. also, much of latin america is now anti-american and
anti-capitalist. also, unlike vietnam, cuba has no major enemy in the
latin americas like vietnam did and still does with china. there is
nothing that will pressure cuba to come nearer to the US on the
political level. also, there are MANY people in the US who revere
castro and che guevara. if conservatives weren't such blind and deaf
idiots, they'd realize that 60s style radicalism has returned to
campus, with tenured radicals running most departments.
so, cuba really matters. also, forget all the crap about cuba
turning pro-american and democratic IF we open up to cuba. just look
at china. while it was turning more pro-american during the 80s, it's
turned sharply anti-american in recent yrs with the rise of chinese
nationalism.
and, look at all those latin american countries with whom US tried to
promote free trade. they all turned anti-american. and look at
venezuela whose economy is largely propped up by sale of oil to the
US. do venezuelans love us? i don't think so. instead, chavez has
been propping up cuban commies.
when nixon went to china, it was because china was a huge im****tant
country. US really thought it needed china's cooperation to end the
war in vietnam and to counter the USSR. also, chinese were willing to
be friendly with us and bury the hatchet. chinese, in the throes of
the disastrous cultural revolution and with russkies breathing down
their necks, wanted a powerful ally. taking the long view, maybe
nixon's visit was a big mistake as john lukacs has argued. in the
end, it was much better for china than for the US. the fall of
communism made china safer and better for the chinese but made china
more powerful and dangerous to the rest of the world. today, china
preaches spiritual marxism and practices material capitialism all in
the name of national glory and power.
at any rate, there is no urgent need to have open trade with cuba.
cuba is not economically im****tant to the US. but, it has tremendous
spiritual power over much of the americas. like all religions, this
goes beyond rational thought. there are STILL people who argue that
the communist victory in vietnam was a good thing. their
prismological view sees the world in terms of capitalist-imperialists
who only care about greed and profit and progressives/freedom fighters
who fight for 'social justice' and equality. we all see the world
thru our prisms, but prisms often become mental prisons. the gulag of
the mind is still a reality among the left. they mistake this gulag as
their eternal garden of eden, just as islamists mistake their suicidal
acts of terrorism as the path to heaven with 77 virgins.
it would be nice if US and cuba can be friends again, but US must
demand conditions. for starters, the cuban government must drop all
anti-american propaganda and vitriol. there's no sense trying to be
friends with someone who spits in your face and calls you
'mother*****er'.
|
