I may be horribly wrong, but it always seemed to me that Jimmy Carter was one of the few decent men that actually made it to the presidency, in these modern times anyway. That's probably why he was such a bad president. It's also interesting to note that he had one of the highest IQ's of any of our presidents. I read that in an article equating having a high IQ to being a bad president. If you're curious, one of the lowest IQ's? The beloved Ronnie Reagan. Not that you can put too much stock in IQ. It is interesting though.
Anyway, this cuban situation that's been going on since 1959 is kind of upsetting considering that we only ever hear one side of this story. Putting all personal politics and biases aside can we all agree that there at least two sides to every story and the truth lies somewhere in the middle?
Now does anyone remember how this all started? Why is it that Castro is in power? Why did we try to go in and overthrow Castro ourselves (Bay of Pigs)? Why didn't it work? What is our large objection to this sovereign nation exercising it's sovereignty, even after the fall of the 'communist menace'? Why is the Cuban economy in such shambles? Why do we continually harp on the horrible living conditions of the people of Cuba while maintaining a 40 year embargo against them? Why do we the people take a callously indignant position in an argument that we know nothing about?
If you can't even begin to answer some of these questions you are short on information and that can be helped. You can find plenty of our government's side of the story... although sometimes it seems our position is to just not talk about the roots of the thing since our righteousness has been long since established, try a history book and see if that tells you anything. My job though is to present the lesser heard side so that an informed decision can be made. It's not about changing minds it's about informing so that whatever opinion you might have, it can be a well informed and well thought out one. You owe it to yourself and humanity to not be an ignorant opinionated ass. There is a toll for apathy and voluntary ignorance, whether we or our great-grandkids have to pay it is the question.
I just came across a somewhat relevant article that is a good illustration that the people in charge of the world and our country are people, flawed and a little bit scary, just like everyone else.
The great cause of division between the working class and the ruling class... Privilege. Privilege creates a gulf that can rarely be bridged. Can you relate to Nixon? Can he relate to you? Heck no. But he was our leader and representative to the world. How do you represent people you can't relate to? Here's a snippet from the above article about how things really work...
"Elected governments in Latin America and the Caribbean are similarly dismissed. In his meeting with Heath, Nixon hopes to keep leftists from power in the Bahamas once it declares independence in Britain, and boasts that U.S. ally Brazil rigged the election in Uruguay to keep leftists out.
In Chile, he says: "The left is in trouble. There are forces at work which we are not discouraging." Not long after, Gen. Augusto Pinochet ousted Salvador Allende in a bloody CIA-assisted coup, and instituted a repressive regime that lasted until the late 1980s."
And we can't figure out why the world get's sick of us? If you didn't notice, this article is from the mainstream press flying all over the world on the AP wire. How did we great Americans become so dim and complacent that we don't even bat an eyelash at this stuff? Be a real patriot, turn off the TV, and pay some freaking attention. The ideals of this great country are rarely upheld in practice. In a constitutional republic it is OUR responsibility to see that they are, if we do in fact believe in them. We can't even blame the government because they are our responsibility. Here is a short parade of quotes that illustrates my point as eloquently as humanly possible, so I won't bother...
"A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it is but a Prologue to a Farce, or a Tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives." --James Madison
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." --Kierkegaard
"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action." --George Washington
"You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence." --Charles Austin Beard
And finally...
"What do the nationalists say about killers punishing murderers and thieves sentencing looters?" --Kahlil Gibran
'packs up the soap box, leaflets, and the "The End Is Near" sign in the back of his AMC Pacer and goes into hiding in the hills of West Virginia'
:: Damien 5/14/2002 [+] ::
