You are the Makers of History!
  • Home
  • More Historic Pictures!
  • Books
  • Hit Us Up
  • Blog
  • Coming Events
  • Videos
  • Donations

Why I Have Faith in the Cuban Revolution in spite of Obama

3/22/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
Like many of you who understand the gruesome history of U.S. imperialism, I'm watching the events unfolding in Cuba with a close eye.  Unlike most of you, I belong to an organization that has required me to seriously study the Cuban Revolution, along with traveling there, for the last three decades.  I see what the U.S. has done to sabotage attempts at building socialism in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Libya, among others, but I also know that there are distinct differences between those wonderful people and countries and the Cuban people and their revolution.  Since 1959, the Cuban people have worked hard to consolidate the gains of their revolution.  They have institutionalized one of the best educational systems in the world, and that's according to the United Nations - no friend to Cuba with its U.S. controlled budget and agenda.  So, although I understand the skepticism and concern many of you have, I encourage you to have some faith in the Cuban people and what they have spent the last 55 years consolidating. 

Camilo Guevara, the son of Che, was correct when he spoke earlier this week about the approach Cuba will take to this so-called reconciliation with the U.S.  And, although Mr. Guevara has no official position in the Cuban government, Marelia Castro, the daughter of Raul Castro and Vilma Espin, was more direct when speaking as the National Director of Human Services (Cuba's equivalent to Planned Parenthood more or less), she said that the U.S. is crazy if it thinks they will move Cuba away from socialist construction.

Here's why I'm not as concerned as many of you.  I know that 70% of Cuba's population today was born since the revolution.  They have never lived without free education, free health care, and guaranteed employment by the constitution.  They have never experienced hunger.  Unlike most people in the U.S., who have absolutely no understanding of anything happening outside of their own personal lives, the people of Cuba, according again to the United Nations, are some of the best educated and informed people on the planet.  They understand and see what is happening in Eastern Europe with the collapse of the state capitalist sponsored social programs that used to exist there.  They see the poverty and increase in crime, things that are nonexistent in Cuba.  In other words, Cubans know the benefits of socialism and the hazards and pitfalls of capitalism.  They don't want student debt.  They don't want health insurance and the bills that come with it.  They don't want rent that is 150% of your income.  They don't want capitalism.  And you better believe they will fight to the death to defend their way of life.

Then why even meet with the U.S.?  Why try and build a relationship with the number one imperialist power on the planet?  Surely, this must be a trick by U.S. capitalism to take over the Cuban system right?  Look, the U.S. is all about hegemony and dominance over everyone.  This is an imperialist country right down to the chocolate you eat, so there's no questioning that.  Still, try for a second to look at this from the standpoint of the Cubans.  Try to resist the programmed input we receive 24/7 that tells us every decision on the planet Earth is engineered by U.S. capitalism.  Let's evaluate what's happening here from the perspective of Cuba continuing to build their socialist system.  As every critic of capitalism - from Karl Marx, V.I. Lenin, to Mao Tse Tung to Kwame Nkrumah and Sekou Ture, have pointed out, since socialism is based on having a planned economy that seeks to organize the available materials within the society into resources that serve the interests of the masses of people who live in that society, a necessary prerequisite for socialism to grow properly is industrialization.  This is an important component because industrialization increases production and increased production equals more cash flow.  More cash flow permits your country to compete in the capitalist controlled markets.  At first, and for the time being, this places socialist countries in a limited position, but while this is happening, those socialist countries are continuing to build the political consciousness of their people.  They continue creating a conscious society that encourages moral consciousness over material consciousness.  As previously mentioned, Cuba has clearly made concrete strides in this area.  So, this industrial development will help them to further consolidate socialism because they will have the capacity to strengthen their industries, thus creating more resources for them to provide even more to their efforts to build up their society.  By building up their society I mean their capacity to do even more in the area of medicine to build on their socialist inspired and ground breaking elimination of mother to child HIV transmissions, creating a vaccine for cervical cancer, wiping out ebola in Africa, etc.  Building on the wonderful things they are doing is going to be extremely difficult while the economic blockade that has hindered them since 1961, is still in force.  So, their motivation for improving relations with the U.S. is unquestionably, to remove the blockade.  Not to pave the way for Cuba to become a capitalist country, but to create more resources to further build their socialist system.  I believe they are primed to do this.  Cuba isn't the same as China, Vietnam, or even Libya, where there isn't the same level of evidence of the type of political consciousness and commitment to socialism that has been clearly displayed in Cuba for decades.

None of this means we shouldn't be concerned.  I don't trust Obama and U.S. imperialism any farther than I can pass gas.  The point is I have confidence in the Cuban people to uphold the principles of their revolution.  Especially since they have been doing that and outsmarting the U.S. for the last 60 years.  From the release of Fidel and Raul Castro, Che Guevara, Juan Almeida, and others from that Mexico City jail in 1955, to the defeat of U.S. forces in Playa Giron (Bay of Pigs) in 1961, to the missiles in October the next year, to the Marial boot lift in 1980, to Elian Gonzales in 2000, to I believe, the current scenario, Cuba has been using the U.S. to get what they need to build socialism.  And, besides, even if things turn against the Cuban people for some reason, that doesn't defeat socialism.  It will just delay it a little longer.  So, don't dis-pair.  Instead, what we can do to help is start to study Cuba.  Read "The Academic Advantage" which will explain to you Cuba's excellent educational program.  Read Fidel Castro's "In Defense of Socialism" where he predicts in 1988 everything that is happening now.  Study and learn about Cuba's National Assembly, their chief unilateral legislature so that you can stop and resist the constant confusion being articulated that Cuba is a dictatorship and that the people have no democracy.  Understand that Cuba has made decisions that dictate that social justice is more important than some personal freedoms so you can't have the freedom to make as much money as is humanly possible there.  And, that's a good thing, but people here need to learn to understand why and how that's good.  People here need to learn that you have no democracy here so why do you think you are in the moral position to criticize Cuba or anyone else?  Also, everyone who truly supports the Cuban Revolution should travel there.  Let's build international solidarity with the Cuban people.  My political party has been doing that for years.  That's why most of our cadre have been to Cuba at least once.  We need more of that and I'm not talking about taking your capitalist and white supremacist fueled ideologies down there.  I'm talking about taking a true revolutionary consciousness and solidarity there so that the Cuban people know we support them and what they are building.  Everything's going to be alright. No matter what happens.  Fidel already told us that years before this latest thing. 

2 Comments
Andrew
3/28/2016 01:00:36 pm

Cubans are suffering! Why have so many left Cuba and moved to other countries. Their political system is a failure. You say you've been to Cuba but I think that is fictional as is your writing.

Reply
Ahjamu
8/14/2016 08:16:45 pm

Obviously, you know nothing about Cuba. The World Health Org, UN, all of these data collection agencies give Cuba higher marks in every important area e.g. health, nutrition, and education, than any of their neighbouring countries. In some of those areas, Cuba, at only 1/3 the time, has surpassed the U.S.

Clearly, you have no intellectual capacity to even counter the concrete examples given in the article. All you have is the same tired capitalist media talking points about Cubans suffering.". Your ignorance makes you question the legitimacy of my claims of traveling to Cuba. You are so stupid you can't even demonstrate basic research skills, like seeing the YouTube videos I've posted of my time in Cuba. Unfortunately for you, what clearly isn't fictional is the sad and disgusting arrogance and ignorance that you are so willing to expose for all to see.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    I don't see disagreement as a negative because I understand that Frederick Douglass was correct when he said "there is no progress without struggle."  Our brains are muscles.  Just like any other muscle in our body if we don't stress it and push it, the brain will not improve.  Or, as a bumper sticker I saw once put it, "If you can't change your mind, how do you know it's there?"

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    June 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.