CHANGE IS IN THE AIR

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR
For all the bad news on the world wide political scene, I think some good news may be on the horizon. Yes, political change is in the air. Just like the chain of events that lead to the eventual breakup of the old U.S.S.R. , I feel we are on the brink of change in several areas of the world.
Some change cannot be brought about by a wishful foreign government, or weapons. Some change must come by waiting and from within, especially in very restrictive countries where descent and the will of the people are suppressed (often brutally). In many cases this undercurrent will run just below the surface for years, even decades, before erupting.
One of the problems is that repressive governments tend to shelter and suppress the dissident news and events that happen internally. The brave students and patriots that speak and act out against these dictatorships often put their very lives on the line. As a world observer you have to read past the state approved headlines, party spin, and edited stories. You also must assume that our CIA is lending financial support to these dissidents, when it’s to the best interest of the United States. I clearly see the seeds of Freedom beginning to grow in Taiwan, China, Iran, and closest to home Cuba.
The subject of Cuba is an important one to me. Especially being a Floridian, with the island of Cuba, a scant 90 miles from our shores. I remember in my lifetime the Cuban missile crisis, the Mariel boat lift, and the ill fated Bay of Pigs. The Cuban’s that have made our country their home, have contributed their skills, their passions, and their sense of family.(not to mention their food and cigar skills in Tampa’s Ybor city)
The U.S. has had a long a varied relationship with the people of Cuba. It’s also unusual that we actual have a U.S. base on the island, despite our limited formal diplomatic relations. The military base is an anomaly, brought about by a 1903 treaty granting the U.S. a perpetual lease for the land at Guantanamo Bay, to be used as a Naval Coaling Station (don’t think we have any coal driven Navel ships anymore).
At one time before the corrupt but sympathetic Cuban leader Batista was taken out of power by Castro’s revolution, the U.S. had many interests in the island. Many American industrialists like the Hershey (yes, the guy with the chocolate company) had substantial homes and plantations on the island. They also made significant investments into the infrastructure on the island. These were the hay days of Cuba, when it enjoyed trade, tourism, and its businesses, nightclubs, cigars, and casinos, were among the world’s best.
The Cuban leader Castro has clung to power, thru the administrations of several U.S. presidents, since his ouster of Batista in 1959 as still remains in a position to call the shots even though he handed power to his aging brother in February of 2008.
I think the time is ripe in Cuba and other areas of the world for a historic change. I welcome the opportunity for ourselves and the wonder people of Cuba. Of course only time will tell.
P.I.B.