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reedom is the key
for democracy.
Freedom is the right to dissent, to walk in the town square,
in public places and express one’s views without fear to
reprisals, punishment, insults. If people can do this, they
live in a free society, in a free country. If they can not,
people live in a country without freedom.
A world without moral clarity, well defined, is a world in
which dictators speak about human rights even as they kill,
oppress, and violate human rights. It is a world where
dictators demand the no interference from another nations,
while they are the first to interfere in those nations that
do not think as they do. The concept that a dictator will
abide to his words, that a dictator will act according to
agreements signed in summits, is absurd, an aberration.
Countries can be classified, independently if they hold
elections or not, into two groups: countries with freedom,
countries with fear, frightened. In a nation under fear,
where dissent is prohibited, the people can be divided into
three groups. One group is made of those who remain in favor
of the dictator because they agree with him, even to the
extent of never recognizing when something is wrong. The
caudillo a bad guy? Never!
Another group is made up of those who are willing to defy
the prevailing order despite the risk of jail. A third group
is formed by those who do not believe anymore in the
dictator, but who are afraid to take the risk to dissent.
This group live under a constant tension between the gap
between their thought and their words. Some call this group
the double thinkers, or double morale group. Could it be no
moral at all? In reality, when a government, a tyrant is
repressive enough-Cuba-it will appear to the outside world
to consist only of true believers.
All people want to be free. Freedom does not depend on
culture, race, religion. No, freedom is a universally
desired, it is universally desirable. In whatever region of
the world freedom prevails, that region will be more stable,
peaceful, more prosper. Free countries, democratic countries
must play an important role in expanding democracy and
freedom in all nations. Some think that democracy and
freedom can not be imposed from the outside. This is a false
premise.
The power of a government like in Cuba is not based only on
its army, secret police, or Comites de Defensa. Of great
importance is how to control what people read, listen to,
watch, the no access to objective information, to the
external media, to the Internet. For those who live in free
countries, is hard to understand how the government can
brainwash citizens. It is hard to believe that persons are
allowed to go to libraries, but determined books and
materials are not.
It is very hard to understand that the media-radio, TV,
written-be completely controlled by the government. Even
more, in this modern age, how the Internet is limited in
access, and only to government controlled sites-an Intranet.
Democracies are closely linked in most people’s minds with
elections. Surely, no one would consider a country
democratic if its government were not elected. However,
there are many features associated with modern democratic
society-the rule of law, constitutions, independent courts,
political parties, a meaningful opposition, freedom of
religion, freedom of the press, and so on. Elections are not
a true test of a democracy. They are an instrument, one that
can be applied well or badly. The same is true of a
constitution. Elections can be meaningless in the hands of
tyrants. Seeking the legitimacy conferred by democracy, they
steal its most familiar set of clothes. But they never fit.
Cases like these just prove that democracy must always be
protected. Dictators do not depend on their people; their
people depend on them. Cuba’s tyrants are an excellent
example.
There is also a belief by some that trade and contacts bring
people closer together and that always spur positive
changes. This is an illusion of some in the free world.
Contacts and trade have a positive effect only between free
societies. It never has worked between free countries and
countries under a tyranny. The contacts, the trade do not
have any positive effect on the government that continues
its oppression, its control over the people.
The transition from a fear society to a free society can be
long and arduous. Stability is perhaps a word much used and
abused by the diplomatic world. A fear society is always
much less stable for its people and neighboring countries
that a free society.However, the debate should be on how
democracy can be established in a particular
country-Cuba-and not on the erroneous assertion that
democracy should never be established there at all.
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