February 13, 2008
castro's campaign promises and their importance in this election year
fidel castro wasn't elected anything in Cuba but he did campaign there. During several years of his guerrilla insurgency he used propaganda and the media to put out his campaign messages. No, he didn't run for elected office but on January 1, 1959 fidel castro would have won an election in Cuba against any candidate. I believe its important for us to analyze the themes of castro's "campaign" because we tend to find them present in today's political landscape here in America. This is not new, of course, it's just that we the conservatives have allowed our eyes to be taken off the ball. It's precisely now that we are in the most danger of falling for the false promises of socialism and communism.
So what was fidel's "platform" what were the main elements of his campaign? He certainly didn't talk about taking away people's property or their businesses or their civil liberty. He didn't talk about one-party rule and closing down the critical media. So what was it that drove everyday Cubans to support fidel castro in Cuba? The answer of course is that he tried to portray himself as a reasonable man forced to take drastic measures by the the corrupt and inequitable situation in Cuba at the time.
He promised change, but not to a draconian Soviet-styled totalitarianism, no. He promised "agrarian reform" so the less fortunate could have a better life. With that goal is mind Cubans allowed castro and his henchmen to deprive their fellow countrymen of their property.
He promised healthcare for everyone. And with that goal in mind Cubans allowed castro to take away their right to choose how their health would be taken care of and who would take care of it.
He promised education and literacy for all. And under this pretext Cubans allowed their sons and daughters to be indoctrinated and molded in the "new man" who strive to "be like Che".
If those themes look familiar, they should. Here in America it's not wealthy landowners that "abuse" the citizenry it's corporations. So we hear the clamoring, from candidates of both parties, for more regulation and we allow the ends of a more "equitable" distribution of wealth to justify the means of confiscating money and property from those "evil doers".
One of Cuba's "triumphs" is of course healthcare. Everyone knows this, even Michael Moore says so. So it's no wonder that people on the American left would like for us to emulate Cuba in this arena. Again the villains are the for-profit corporations, that far from saving lives, are responsible for the "deplorable" state of medicine in this country.
And lastly education. Of course education is required to live in a country with "social justice". But it can only be a certain kind of education. Because public education has been such a striking success in this country we need to throw even more of our hard-earned dollars at it and certainly we can't allow for anything like vouchers to private schools that would add an element of competition. Who needs competition when you have the right stuff and the right ideas?
All of this can be yours and it will all be free. Of course to fund it the government will take more and more out of your paycheck, but hell free is free. Everything will be free, except you, of course.
It's too bad that there won't be anyone around this summer and fall to take the leftists to task for their false promises. Someone who understands that the socialist threat is probably greater today because it's not believed to exist than during the cold war. Beware of charismatic leaders with promises of a Utopian society anchored in government intervention.
This ideological struggle between individual liberties and state supremacy is not one confined to the past nor is it about one presidential election. This will be an eternal struggle between those who believe man is free to do what is best for himself and those who think that man can not govern himself.
I leave you again with this video I did about Ronald Reagan. It's been shortened and improved. I have posted it at a site called eyeblast which is a sort of conservative youtube. Enjoy it.
Posted by Henry Louis Gomez at February 13, 2008 11:35 AM |
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Comments
The sad thing is that many Americans will vote for those very things. They are selling their souls for a piece of bread. If it weren't for it affecting everyone I would almost wish that they get what they ask for and suffer the misery that millions ar eexperiencing for making that decision. Regrettably if they have their way we also will live the same nightmare.
Posted by: pototo ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.babalublog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 13, 2008 12:03 PM
Aren't there some logical gaps in simply equating healthcare reforms in the US with the smoke and mirrors of the Cuban political system? Why the need to be constantly polemical? Is there no happy medium? No healthcare system is perfect but the status quo is clearly untenable. I was raised in a community of ardently anti-castro Cubans in Union City who wouldn't mind some help with their dire healthcare situation. $500 dollar bill for a Dr. to see you, write a script, and dismiss you in 5 minutes? No joda. It doesnt always break down to a battle between socialism and capitalism. how about some common sense? Healthcare is never going to be completely nationalized but steps have to be made so it's at the very least accessible to those people que se rompen los huevos trabajando duro.
Posted by: Cucuruchu at February 13, 2008 12:16 PM
Whats wrong with the health system is primarily abuse by those who choose not to pay as well as the ambulance chasers. The answer is less government not more. I once paid a very high hospital stay and I questioned some of the very high charges. I was told that 2 out of 3 people in that system did not pay their medical bills. In essence I and others were paying for that abuse. I also have a friend who is now a heart specialist. years ago when he finished school I remember falling out of my chair when he told me what his liability insurance premiums would be. Why? because the way the system is set up a doctor is nothing more than a moving target. Our health care is the best in the world. To make any changes to line up with the financial systems of others would only then cause it to line up with their lack of quality as well. The answer in this problem is personal responsibility and accountability. But sadly I am afraid that the opposition to that is a runaway freight train headed for a disaster.
Posted by: pototo at February 13, 2008 12:42 PM
The average cost of a visit to the doctor is about $155, not $500, and how does the average person have to go to the doctor?
Posted by: Ziva at February 13, 2008 12:58 PM
Cucuruchu,
No there are no logical gaps. The people that want to introduce socialism are never going to talk about what their ideas actually mean to our civil liberties. They sugar coat everything and couch their rhetoric in language about those less fortunate. We all have to sacrifice (a little liberty) for the good of all. Just because people are willing to take hand out doesn't mean we should give it to them.
Health care can be fixed in this country by taking the exact opposite approach that these people advocate, by getting government out and allowing for a competitive situation to exist where patients pay for healthcare instead of having the insurance companies bear more and more of the cost and then having to pass those costs on the insured. You have car insurance for the major accident, not the door ding. If your insurance covered all oil changes, tire rotations and routing maintenance it would cost a lot more. We're asking health insurance to cover more and expect our premiums to stay the same. That clearly is untenable. What we need is a national risk pool for insurers to write policies to cover catastrophic illnesses and allow people to save money through tax-free health savings accounts for all the in-between stuff. We don't have a health care crisis, we have a financial crisis related health care costs. There is a big difference.
Every time government expands it does so on the backs of the American people. Tax increases=confiscation of more property. Money is property.
Posted by: Henry "Conductor" Gomez at February 13, 2008 01:59 PM
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