What I would say to Salsa Bear is that it's easy to praise a system like Cuba has but not to actually live under those conditions
Likewise, it's easy to condemn a man like Che Guevara without walking in his shoes.
As I said earlier, Cuba's problems aren't entirely Cuba's. Like it or not, the U.S. has an enormous impact on its neighbor to the south, just as the U.S. is dragging many nations around the world into economic and political chaos.
When you're caught between a rock and hard place, what do you do? Hopefully, Cuba will benefit from South America's growing freedom from Yankee imperialism and surging economies. Cuba's government may continue to evolve, or perhaps they'll have another revolution.
But 100 years from now, Cubans will be able to reflect with pride that they stood up to the U.S. for more than half a century, at the same time exporting doctors while the U.S. exported terror.
To put it in perspective, consider the world reaction if George W. Bush, Obama and Fidel Castro died on the same day. I don't think Bush and Obama combined would get the half respect given Castro.
Also, it isn't entirely accurate to say I've "never lived under those conditions." I'm not saying I've ever had it as bad as people in Cuba, but I have experienced things that give me a little insight. My profession was destroyed by corporate interests, I became a victim of the Bush/Obama economy, I've dealt with the corporate media, and I was almost killed one night.
The differences between Cuba and the U.S. aren't as great as people would like to believe.
But even if you believe Cuba is the armpit of the world, don't be quick to blame it on Che Guevara. He never ran the country. He helped liberate it form a regime that was undeniably more corrupt than Castro's. He later tried to liberate the Congo and Bolivia, countries that few people give a damn about.
Today, Bolivia is free, and I don't think Che Guevara is regarded as an embarrassment there.
But my bank balance....