The decision by the Obama Administration to renew diplomatic relations with Cuba has stirred up stong reactions on both sides of the issue. There are man Cuban exiles in Miami who are calling the President a traitor for wanting to start up relations with the Castro brothers.
During Obama's 6 year tenure, there has rarely been an issue with which I have agreed. This is one of those rare instances. The original intent of the Cuban embargo and sanctions was to oust Fidel Castro and his communist revolution. Do enough economic damage, the thinking went, and eventually the Castro regime would collapse, and the island would be cleansed of communism. So how has it worked so far? After more than half a century, the Castro brothers are still in power, and Marxism is the law of the land. It doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to see that the policy has been an absolute, abject failure with a capital F.
Want to get rid of the commies? Then renewing diplomatic relations is a way to start. Trade sanctions will be loosened, Americans will be allowed to travel to Cuba, and exiles will be united with families. Good ole American dollars will begin to pour into the island like a green hurricane. Tourism will take root, bringing cruise ships and airlines.The influx of visitors and cash will mean hotels will be built, US companies like Walmart, McDonalds, Home Depot, etc. will branch out, creating much needed jobs, rebuilding a crumbling infrastructure and igniting a long dormant economy, while putting cash into the pockets of impoverished Cubans. And that is what will eventually eradicate the communist ideology that has paralyzed the island for almost 60 years.
Need proof? You have only to look to China. Under the despotic rule of Chairman Mao, China was a backward feudal state of starving peasants. It is estimated that between 10 and 30 million Chinese perished at the hands of Chairman Mao. When he finally took his dirt nap, a more liberal leadership took over and abandoned much of the Marxist dogma, replacing it with economic reforms, increased individual freedom, and a desire to be trading partners with the rest of the world.
The result? China has become a major economic powerhouse, the largest purchaser of automobiles in the world, with an ever-expanding middleclass now able to enjoy many of the amenities we take for granted. Do you think for a second the Chinese people would allow themselves to return to a Chairman Mao style dictatorship?
And so it will be with Cuba in the next ten to twenty years. Once the wonderous genie of a market economy is released from the bottle, there is no putting him back. Freedom and prosperity always trumps tyranny.
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