This week, the President of The United States did what should have been done decades ago, and announced the resumption of diplomatic ties between The United States of America and Cuba. Here in South Florida, the predictable backlash has ensued, but to a far lesser degree than I would have expected. To understand human nature is to understand that some of humans are always going to resist change, particularly big change. This Embargo, and the political stand-off that has accompanied it, is 54 years old. The people who instituted it are long-since in their graves, and The Cold War that it was part & parcel of, is also more than 2 decades in the rear-view mirror. It has achieved none of its stated goals---chief amongst which was regime-change. Particularly ironic, considering that when Fidel Castro retired several years ago, he was the longest surviving head of state in the world. It has continued on all of this time, largely due to institutional muscle-memory and a small-but-highly-vocal Cuban Emigre Community. And I get it, for the original generation of immigrants and their immediate offspring, this shit is personal, and they are grudge-holders. But grudges and international diplomacy are a bad combination. And with Chinas increasing influence in the Caribbean, it may not be a great idea to simply cede our backyard to other global competitors. To the normalization of diplomatic relations, the rational view can be little other than Its about time. Getting the Republican-controlled Legislature to start softening the trade barriers is another matter entirely, and will require a great deal of constituent arm-twisting to happen. In other words, that parts going to be a long shot.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 15:30:20 +0000
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