Birds of a Feather

My Cuban friends are mostly registered Republicans and many support, Donald Trump.  Their own history may provide some insight into their logic, but it should also raise a few literal red flags.  Cuba has long been ruled by dictators.  Jose Miguel Gomez, Mario Garcia Menocal, and Alfredo Zayas to name a few.  In 1925, they (probably my friends’ grandfathers or great-grandfathers) elected Gerardo Machado who was constitutionally barred from reelection but decided not to leave and officially became a dictator with the support of an oligarchic state.  Eventually, Cuba was ruled by Fulgencio Batista, another despot, and dictator.  He was supported by Eisenhower (Republican) and criticized by John Kennedy (Democrat).

In 1959 United States companies owned about 40 percent of the Cuban sugar land, almost all the cattle ranches, 90 percent of the mines and mineral concessions, 80 percent of the utilities, and practically all the oil industry.  The US-based mafia ran the casinos, prostitution, and other illicit enterprises in Cuba. Enter the Cuban savior, one Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, who would rule from 1959 until 2008.  This Cuban dictator would renounce the US ties with Cuba and realign Cuba's fate with Russia.  As a Marxist-Leninist, El Caballo, as was his nickname, would move Cuba into an era of communistic socialism as could only be administered by a dictator.

It is here I believe my Cuban friends get confused.  They now brand anything that hints of “socialism” with the life they saw under Castro.  With his version of socialism, he nationalized private property and industry and began a one-party socialist state under Communist Party rule.  He initially set up a puppet government that he declared had been selected by popular election.  This, of course, was a lie.  He lied a lot.  He killed his opponents, controlled the press, and aligned himself with other dictators.  He then sided with Russia and developed them as a trading partner.  He was greatly influenced by China’s Great Leap Forward and he instituted a similar plan, that he called a Great Revolutionary Offensive.  He easily resorted to name-calling and used terms like “scum” and “lumpen” when referring to adversaries.  Castro is described as a “bad loser” and vindictive and unforgiving with a ferocious rage.  He could throw tantrums and he was intolerant of anyone who did not share his views.

Stop me if any of this sounds vaguely familiar in 2020 America.  Can you think of anyone who has embraced Russia and China in recent years?  Is there anyone who regularly lies, despises, and tries to control the media?  Does Castro sound and act like anyone in current memory?

Birds of a feather

Cuba has “elected,” selected, or allowed dictatorial strongmen to rule that island nation for over a century.  After Castro nationalized much of their industry, Cubans fled.  Of those who fled, most ended up in the United States.  As immigrants, they were treated better than almost any in history.  They were certainly treated better than Asians who were brought here to build our railroads.  They were certainly treated better than the Irish who worked as indentured servants, or in our factories and mines.  No, for the most part, Cubans enjoyed the assistance of the American government and its people.  They came by planes, boats, and literally anything that would float.  I personally worked on secret flights from the naval base at Guantanamo Bay to Opa-Locka, Florida in northwest Miami that were disguised as produce flights.  We would bring “fence jumpers” who either jumped the fence onto the base or swam or floated down the Guantanamo River.  We flew them to Miami for processing after an initial vetting on the base to identify potential Castro spies.  We would return to the base with milk, eggs, dairy, and fresh produce.  It was a poorly kept "secret."  We brought ten to twenty refugees every month to Miami.

Once in Miami and other cities across America, Cubans were provided food, clothing, and shelter.  They became Cuban Americans who were industrious, hard-working citizens.  Many would become successful in business and politics.  It is this immigrant background that I find puzzling when it comes to their supporting a president who is loathsome of immigrants and other refugees from similar backgrounds.  We now see a president who is intolerant of these Spanish-speaking people of color who seek refuge from oppression in their own countries.  A president who has literally torn families apart, many who may never find their loved ones again.

Not all Cuban Americans are supportive of Trump.  Some see the hypocrisy in that support.  Like all the Democrats that I know, they do not support open borders but a meaningful and well-managed immigration system.  Some see the similarities between Castro and Trump.  Those similarities are easy to spot if you are not so blinded by your hatred of “communistic-socialism” that you can’t see the difference between that form of dictatorial government and one that advantages citizens in a democracy.  Even the most extreme among the currently branded socialists, do not support the nationalization of our businesses and industry.  What they do support, is a way those businesses are taxed in a fair manner.  They support a tax-code that disallows an avoidance of taxes through legal maneuvering.

These same few Cuban Americans also see that a president who ignores the rule of law and uses his power to line his own pockets at the expense of its citizens is reminiscent of a deceased bearded tyrant that they uniformly despise.  Donald Trump, Fidel Castro, birds of a feather.  I challenge my Cuban American friends who now support Donald Trump to take a long hard look at what he stands for.  Many Republicans who know this president very well have made the decision to vote for Joe Biden.  Several of Trump’s top aides who worked closely with him in the past three years have seen the light and have now come out in support of Joe Biden.  If you are conservative in your thinking I know it will be a tough pill to swallow but you have to see where this presidency is headed.  You have seen it all before.

In November of this year, we all get another bite at the apple to select a leader for this great country.  It would be wise if we avoid that part of the apple that contains the worm.