The Failure of Socialism Stares Us in the Face and the MSM Is Talking about Covid?
By Anabella
When Fidel Castro rose to power in 1959, my grandparents saw the writing on the wall. Over the next couple of years, as their business, family, and way of life were threatened, they planned an escape from Cuba. Through careful preparation and sacrifice, they packed up what few things they were able to and evacuated for the United States. My grandparents, in their proactivity, narrowly avoided the despair that settled over their homeland. Many Cubans were not so fortunate.
While my family had the opportunity to prosper in the United States over the last 60 years, those who were left behind in Cuba are still struggling. Decades after the Cuban Revolution that granted Castro complete control over the Island, the Cuban people are as disenfranchised and impoverished as ever, thanks to the oppressive and stifling socialist policies imposed by their government.
This weekend, protests erupted across Cuba. Some mainstream and social media actors would have you believe that the demonstrations are centered around COVID vaccine shortages. Their deflection is an insult to the real suffering of the citizens. Here is the heart of the crisis: the Cuban people are demanding an end to communism and the tyranny of the Castro regime, which have anchored its people in poverty and repression for decades.
The people don’t have grievances with mere supply chain issues; they are rejecting an entire economic system, which regularly prevents people from obtaining basic necessities.
The Cuban government denies its people access to food, electricity, and medicine, just a few examples of human rights violations the regime regularly perpetrates. In response to the protests, the government has cut off access to wifi to prevent the dissemination of information that might help activists organize and recruit aid and resources from abroad.
Many left-leaning news sources, as well as the Cuban president, wrongly blame the unrest on President Trump’s reinstatement of the embargo on Cuba and the COVID pandemic. While the pandemic may have worsened economic conditions in Cuba due to a decline in tourism, it is hardly the root of the nation’s problems. These outlets, in harping on COVID and Trump, are only looking for a scapegoat so that they can avoid admitting the obvious: that their beloved socialism fails whenever and wherever it is tried. Cubans have been oppressed and starved since Fidel Castro assumed power in 1959. The pandemic did not create the dearth of freedom and quality of life that Cubans endure every day; socialism did.
The grim reality that Cubans face, and that they are protesting against, is a direct result of the socialist ideology. Socialism is inseparable from corruption and inevitably breeds inequality, poverty, and an abuse of power, concentrating it in the hands of the wealthy elite, while the people go destitute. As socialism destroys freedom, innovation, productivity, and living standards fall to the wayside. What’s left in its wake is a dictatorship and a disenfranchised people who suffer at the hands of the greedy rulers.
The desperation of the Cuban people is at an all time high. This is brutally apparent as Cubans continue to protest the government, even though the president ordered loyalists and the police to kill and arrest protesters on sight. The people’s presence on street corners in the face of death and imprisonment is a testament to the harsh, disturbing results of socialism.
We are witnessing, yet again, the catastrophe that is socialism. The ideology has yet to render any positive society or any contribution to the world. The video clips of Cuban protestors surfacing on social media make this clear. We are able to see the misery of Cubans like we haven’t been able to before, and the dismal reality of socialism is staring us in the face. It is a wonder that anyone can still support and promote socialism here in America, while our neighbors are suffering in real time.
It is noticeable that prominent American socialist figures, such as Bernie Sanders, remain silent on the issue, hesitant to bring any attention to the evidence that the policies he celebrates are the primary cause of the despair in Cuba. Meanwhile, the Democratic Socialists of America outwardly support the Cuban government, tweeting and retweeting comments in favor of Cuba’s president. Their comments prove that they are aware of the reality of socialism, and even worse, that they still support and seek a similar system in the United States. They watch Cuban protesters surrender their lives in the pursuit of freedom, and persuade us that this is a logical future for America. So much for “real socialism has never been tried before.” Their messages are an admission that they understand what real socialism is, and that they approve of it.
While the current events in Cuba ought to serve as a wake up call to those who espouse socialist ideas in the U.S., it should also serve as a reminder to freedom-loving Americans to fervently defend capitalism and our way of life.
Whether you want to pin Cuba’s downfall on Castro’s “Armas Para Que?” campaign that disarmed the Cuban people, or on the manipulation of elections that keep the socialists in power, it is time that we recognize and put an end to the same movements gaining popularity here. Gun control, government overreach, and censorship are trending in American politics and culture, and Cuban defectors living here are sounding the alarm. Cuba’s current state is what awaits us if we do not arrest these attempts on our freedom.
The Cubans, unarmed and defenseless, are still fighting for their freedom more than 60 years after the Revolution, and perhaps will be for another 60 years more. The best time to stop authoritarianism is before it gains a foothold. We have reached a critical juncture as a nation. We can follow Cuba’s lead, or remain the last stand on Earth for freedom.
Cuban protesters wave the American flag as a symbol of hope, which warns us against taking our freedom for granted. The Cuban’s love of our flag encourages us to protect our liberties and continue to serve as a beacon of light for all those around the world who dream of calling our country home. Our legacy inspires the world’s exploited and enslaved to pursue- to demand- freedom.
There is nothing more worth fighting for than liberty, an inalienable right the Cubans have been denied since 1959. The Conservateur supports the fight against the evil socialist regime that has enslaved the island of Cuba.
Photo via @kourtneykardashian
