Tale of Two Pities

28 July 2004



Castro and Bush Slam Each Other

This particular round of sniping between Washington and Havana started with Mr. Bush. He said, a few weeks ago that Cuba was running child prostitution rings to earn hard currency. Comrade Fidel replied that Mr. Bush was lying, and that the American president is a "sinister figure" as well as a past alcoholic. Both men behaved in ways that shame their nations, but the Cold War is long over and neither side can figure out how to change the relationship. Yet another failure of the imagination in world affairs.

Mr. Bush really should know better. The child prostitution charge, if true, raises a very unpleasant question. Who, precisely, are the pedophiles? Rule one in politics is to avoid asking questions when the answer may be inconvenient. While there is no evidence that anyone is engaging in such activities, who are the people who go to Cuba at all? Europeans, North Americans and Latin Americans. And who has the money to employ prostitutes of whatever age and gender? Enough said.

As for the president of Cuba, he's been beating on his people because he can't beat on anybody else for over 40 years now. Now that the Soviet Union isn't around to keep Cuba (prostitution between nation states), the state capitalist/communist experiment is proving incapable of making the leap into the 1970s, let alone the 21st century. So, complain about the Yanquis to take everyone's mind off their empty bellies. And train brother Raul just in case the worst happens. And yes, everyone knows Mr. Bush quit drinking and why. Something Mr. Brezhnev never did, by the way.

And so, the election raises its ugly head. Once every four years, Americans go to the polls and have a chance to fix relations with Cuba. So far, they haven't figured it out. Here's how it works this time: Mr. Bush wins Florida overwhelmingly, while losing the presidency. Mr. Kerry announces on January 21, 2005 that he wants completely normal relations with Cuba. And the exiles in Miami will have to live with it because they voted for the loser.

After four decades of America trying the same thing, the communist regime in Havana is still there. The one thing it could not survive is the flood of money and information that await it when relations are normalized. Mr. Bush and his predecessors have mistakenly claimed that normal relations would bolster dictator Castro. Odd how the US is so eager to trade with Communist China and Vietnam. The Castro brothers won't live for every, so why is Washington waiting to do the inevitable, especially when America gains from it?


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


Home

Google
WWW Kensington Review



Search:
Keywords: