Even as Washington refrains from commenting substantively on recent developments in Cuba, Fidel Castro continues to provide timely reflections on occurrences in the United States (not to mention internationally), underscoring his persisting importance as a public figure. The juxtaposition is striking: the open, transparent, democratic administration of the United States sneakily avoids the topic of Cuba and thus avoids addressing the inconsistencies in its Cuba policy, while the historically undemocratic Cuba seems to speak relatively openly about what goes on within its northern neighbor’s borders and beyond, and routinely highlights its solidarity with the American people and global populations.
The most recent of these commentaries was published today (written and dated yesterday) as one of Fidel’s Reflections, titled “An Atrocious Act,” reacting immediately to the Saturday shooting in Tucson of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and killing of several others, including John M. Roll, the chief judge for the United States District Court for Arizona. In his piece, Fidel condemns the shooting and compares it to something that might have happened in a war zone: “Any sensible person should ask themselves whether something like this happened in Afghanistan or in an electoral district in Arizona.” He further remarks that even those who do not agree politically or philosophically sincerely hope that no child, judge, congressperson, or citizen of the United States will be submitted to such a tragic death.
His words transcend the current tragedy and place the shooting in the larger context of a planet where “absurd and injustifiable” deaths occur by the millions—whether by war, poverty, or hunger—issues on which Fidel calls upon the Obama administration to share the world’s concern, including just across the border in Mexico.
The Obama administration retains the ability to similarly respond productively (at least in word if not in deed) to developments in Cuba and their larger context, but thus far appears to believe that “no comment” is the better policy.
(Photo: Reuters)
