Sunday, March 13, 2016

Cuba: The young leave for a better life and the old stay

Cuba became an independent country in 1902.   You can divide the island’s history into two periods: the pre-Castro years and the current regime’s period in power since 1959.
I was born in the last decade of pre-Castro Cuba.   My story is so typical of the other kids born in the 1950s.   We were the grandchildren of immigrants from Spain or elsewhere.
Our ancestors came to Cuba because it was a prosperous island, an attractive place for Spaniards seeking a better life, for Jewish refugees from Europe, hard working Asians and others. 
It was a young and vibrant country with hope and a future.  In other words, the island of Cuba attracted people rather than drive its citizens away looking for a future.

It is really sad to watch Cuba today.   The young escape and look for a better life, preferably in the US.   The old get stuck behind. 
It is even more painful when you realize that pre-Castro Cuba attracted thousands of immigrants from all over the world, as our friend Dr Carlos Eire wrote: 
• Between 1900 and 1930, the first three decades of Cuban independence, about one million immigrants flooded into the island, mostly European, and mostly northern Spaniards.
This population tsunami also included Asians, Levantines, and Jews.
These immigrants doubled the population of the island and changed its complexion, literally.
Tens of thousands of immigrants continued to flow into Cuba every year after that, up to 1958.
Immigration from the U.S. was comparatively slight, but in 1958 there were more Americans living in Cuba than Cubans in the U.S.A.
Emigration from Cuba was minimal during this half century.
• Rates of immigration as high as this and of emigration as low require a robust and growing economy, and a considerable degree of political stability. 

To wither is to shrivel, fade, decay, or lose the freshness of youth.   Cuba is indeed withering today.
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The left’s intolerance on full display Friday

Maybe Senator Sanders will get a question like this: Senator, what do you think of all of those protesters shutting down free speech and carrying your placards?  What if a bunch of people with Trump signs interrupted one of your rallies?
Friday was a terrible day for tolerance in the U.S. – a terrible day for those who of us who believe that respectful disagreement is a good thing and healthy for our politics.
It was also a bad day for kindness and civility.
First, Mrs. Clinton said something pleasant about Mrs. Reagan, who was buried Friday.  Her remarks were nothing more than a kind comment about a 94-year-old woman who passed away.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Just simple courtesy and good taste after attending a funeral.  She was not endorsing the Reagan years or anything like that.
The left went crazy.  They forced Mrs. Clinton to take it back.  Shameful.  Terribly weak on the part of Mrs. Clinton, too!
Second, some protesters shut down free speech in Chicago.  Unfortunately, a sad collection of people decided that 25,000 of their fellow citizens at the Trump rally do not have First Amendment rights.   
I guess their definition of free speech is agree with me, or I will shut you up and then yell obscenities on live TV.
As AT readers know, I have serious problems with Mr Trump.  However, he is entitled to a speech or an event.  I have even bigger problems with Senator Sanders and Mrs. Clinton, but I wouldn’t interrupt one of their rallies.
So what is going on?  How did the land of the free and home of the brave turn into this?  The answer is intolerance with a lot of ignorance!
Last night, I saw a protester with a sign that read “health care for all.”  Does this young woman know about Obamacare?  Or is she saying that she wants taxpayers to pay for health care?
I saw a couple of people with Mexican flags.  This is very interesting, because Mexico deports illegal immigrants.
I saw a young man answer a reporter’s questions with just one obscenity after another.  Are his parents proud of him?  Wonder what will happen when this kid grows up and has prospective employers ask him about that video on YouTube…
In fact, most of the protesters interviewed didn’t have a clue about a thing or were just angry that Mr. Trump had come to their campus.
In the short run, this incident will energize the Trump supporters.  
In the long run, and more importantly, what we saw Friday is a sign that too many people don’t really understand tolerance or respect for others.
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The left's intolerance and a lack of civility in the US



Tags: Intolerance from the left, lack of civility To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
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