May 21, 2009
Cuba Needs Freedom
A viral video is making the rounds of Latin America. You can find it on
YouTube. It's an interview with a man on the street, and another Cuban man
walks up and steals the show. He points to his open mouth. In island slang he
says he's hungry, and that “what Cuba needs is food.”
A lot of people blame America for Cubans' hunger. And our government is now
considering removing the embargo we have had against Cuba since its
Communist-inspired revolution. But that should be done — or not — for reasons
that have nothing to do with the motto “Cuba needs food.”
Think about it. Cuba can trade with the rest of the world. In fact, on a cash
basis, even with the U.S. Plenty of opportunities to produce and purchase food.
And hey: The resorts in Cuba are well-stocked with food. Canadians and
Europeans and Arabs and others visiting the island don't complain about a lack
of food.
But the common folk do.
Why?
Well, Cuba suffers from a kind of apartheid. Everyday citizens get ration
cards. Their food shelves are bare. They cannot visit tourist beaches, shop at
tourist supermarkets, or eat at tourist restaurants. They have to make do with
the meager food they've been rationed.
So much for the abolition of the class system by Castro!
To feed Cubans, just one thing is needed: Freedom — an end to socialistic
apartheid.
This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob.
Paul Jacob is President of Citizens in Charge and the Citizens in Charge
Foundation, which sponsors both Common Sense and Paul's weekly Townhall Column.
The opinions expressed in Common Sense are Paul Jacob's and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Citizens in Charge or the Citizens in Charge Foundation.
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