Name caller, heal thyself
By Amaury Cruz
In “Another vote, and Cuban embargo holds — as it should” (Miami Herald, July 3, 2007), Frank Calzon, executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba in Washington, D.C., celebrates the approval by the House of Representatives of $45 million to “promote democracy” in Cuba and writes that, when Democrats took control of Congress, the discussion about Cuban sanctions “turned to name calling, disinformation and hateful characterizations.”
Ironically, Calzon labels advocates for change in U.S.-Cuba relations “those inclined to give tyranny the benefit of the doubt,” and refers to “[those] willing to make concessions to Havana” as doing “the nimble work of [Chavez’s and Castro’s] apologists and agents of influence.”
By Amaury Cruz Read Spanish version
In “Another vote, and Cuban embargo holds — as it should” (Miami Herald, July 3, 2007), Frank Calzon, executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba in Washington, D.C., celebrates the approval by the House of Representatives of $45 million to “promote democracy” in Cuba and writes that, when Democrats took control of Congress, the discussion about Cuban sanctions “turned to name calling, disinformation and hateful characterizations.”
Ironically, Calzon labels advocates for change in U.S.-Cuba relations “those inclined to give tyranny the benefit of the doubt,” and refers to “[those] willing to make concessions to Havana” as doing “the nimble work of [Chavez’s and Castro’s] apologists and agents of influence.”
Calzon proves that the discussion about Cuba sanctions has always been, and continues to be, characterized by name calling, disinformation and hateful characterizations. It is not congressional democrats who favor defamation and ad-hominem arguments however, it is the intransigent among Cuban exiles represented by Mr. Calzon.
The fact is that members of Congress such as Charles Rangel, Jeff Flake, William Delahunt and Barbara Lee, who are at the forefront of efforts to change U.S.-Cuba policy, are honorable and patriotic Americans. So are hundreds of thousands of Cuban Americans who are troubled by the cruel restrictions imposed by the Bush administration on family visits and who deem the embargo as a failed and counterproductive policy.
Many of us who feel this way are not inclined to give tyranny the benefit of the doubt, want to make concessions to Havana, and are not agents or apologists of anyone. We want respect for our fundamental right to travel and to be able to help our families. And we want our government to start helping the Cuban people instead of Republican operatives in Miami who make a substantial living out of the business of anti-Castroism.
The fact is they can burn $45 million as if it were dry sugar cane.
Amaury Cruz is an attorney who lives in Miami.By Amaury Cruz
In “Another vote, and Cuban embargo holds — as it should” (Miami Herald, July 3, 2007), Frank Calzon, executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba in Washington, D.C., celebrates the approval by the House of Representatives of $45 million to “promote democracy” in Cuba and writes that, when Democrats took control of Congress, the discussion about Cuban sanctions “turned to name calling, disinformation and hateful characterizations.”
Ironically, Calzon labels advocates for change in U.S.-Cuba relations “those inclined to give tyranny the benefit of the doubt,” and refers to “[those] willing to make concessions to Havana” as doing “the nimble work of [Chavez’s and Castro’s] apologists and agents of influence.”
Calzon proves that the discussion about Cuba sanctions has always been, and continues to be, characterized by name calling, disinformation and hateful characterizations. It is not congressional democrats who favor defamation and ad-hominem arguments however, it is the intransigent among Cuban exiles represented by Mr. Calzon.
The fact is that members of Congress such as Charles Rangel, Jeff Flake, William Delahunt and Barbara Lee, who are at the forefront of efforts to change U.S.-Cuba policy, are honorable and patriotic Americans. So are hundreds of thousands of Cuban Americans who are troubled by the cruel restrictions imposed by the Bush administration on family visits and who deem the embargo as a failed and counterproductive policy.
Many of us who feel this way are not inclined to give tyranny the benefit of the doubt, want to make concessions to Havana, and are not agents or apologists of anyone. We want respect for our fundamental right to travel and to be able to help our families. And we want our government to start helping the Cuban people instead of Republican operatives in Miami who make a substantial living out of the business of anti-Castroism.
The fact is they can burn $45 million as if it were dry sugar cane.
Amaury Cruz is an attorney who lives in Miami.
