In 1959, the two gentlemen pictured at the left (along with their comrades) overthrew the corrupt regime of Bautista in Cuba. Then they decided it was not in the best interests of the people of that island nation to continue to allow American corporations to rape their nation.This prompted an over-reaction by the United States government. The government helped organize and fund a pitiful and ill-fated invasion of Cuba, and when that failed, it broke off diplomatic relations and organized an embargo of Cuba (blocking travel to and trade with Cuba).
Fifty-four years later we still do not have any diplomatic relations with Cuba, and the embargo continues (even though most of the rest of the world long ago stopped honoring it). It is now time to stop the failed embargo, and to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba. I say that for the following reasons:
1. Both the embargo and the denial of a diplomatic relationship have failed. They were meant to force the failure and overthrow of the Cuban government, but that has not happened -- and will not happen due to any action by the U.S. government.
2. No country, including the United States, has the right to feel another country what kind of government (or society or economic system) they must have. That is something that must be decided by the people of the country in question. When and if they decide to change things in their country, they will do so (just as happened in Poland, the Philippines, and the Soviet Union).
3. The Cuban government poses no danger to the United States in any way.
4. The United States maintains diplomatic relations with many other countries that are not friendly (and have an even worse record of human rights violations).
5. The Cuban government would like to normalize relations between the two countries.
6. If we were really worried about human rights in Cuba, we could have much more influence with that if we have a normal diplomatic relationship with them (that allowed talk, trade, and travel to and from Cuba).
7. The reputation of the United States continues to be damaged, both in this hemisphere and throughout the world, by our government's insistence on continuing these failed policies.
And I am not alone in the belief that it is time to normalize relations with Cuba. This is shown by a recent YouGov Poll (conducted on December 11th and 12th of a nationwide sample of 1,000 adults). As the chart shows below, a plurality of Americans are ready for that -- and those wanting to normalize relations far exceed the number of those who oppose it (except for Republicans, the only group where opposition exceeds support).
