Lovin' Cuba

It’s time to normalize relations with our neighbor, Cuba. I don’t think we’ve been very good neighbors. Of course, Imperial Cuba under Castro in earlier years wasn’t such a good neighbor either. But Cuba is on shaky ground – why not attack them with kindness? We believe a communist system of government is not an effective or even a valid way to run a country – why not show them just how much better our system is? Smother them with it. Let’s trade with them, let’s help Cuban kids get enough to eat, let’s relax the rules on tourism. I have no desire to strangle my neighbors – and if they are happy, well fed and content, perhaps they will be less likely to want to upset the status quo and foment trouble in our backyard. It’s just a thought.

Plainly stated, if we want to foster change in Cuba – positive change that benefits Cubans and Americans -- then let’s quit being so damned afraid of the boogeyman and work with them where we can to foster peace, mutual survival and self-government – even if they DO cling to their extreme socialist beliefs (no negative context of that term intended). Let's do it with genuine friendship, not economic war. 

I really don't like that my nation is involved in the literal starving of the citizens of a neighboring land. It's against my religion. The citizens of Cuba may find that while they want to continue to be a socialist nation, some elements of the non-communist world can be adopted that will help make things better for them. I think Americans have an irrational fear of communism. It isn’t good enough to take over and control the world; why should we be so afraid of it. A huge nation with considerable resources couldn't even make it work. I think there is an opportunity right now for altering the path of the last 50 years in Cuban-American relations – and I think we're bozos if we don’t try it. Let's forgive them their past transgressions -- and see if we can get them to forgive ours.  Let’s love ‘em to death!  Besides, I want to go there before I die; I want to smoke a Cuban cigar on a Cuban beach; yeah, I'm an ugly American!