Some Affection, Little Fuss in Havana

To the Editor:
Your August 3 article, “Some Affection, Little Fuss in Havana,” points out that even though most Cubans expressed their sympathies for their ailing leader, the majority of Cubans queried expressed their ambivalence upon hearing the news of Castro’s temporary secession of power. Such a lack of concern, when compared to the boisterous festivities that ensued in Miami’s Little Havana, is not surprising; just as the majority of Americans are trained to believe in our federal democratic republic, Cubans are taught to have faith in their government’s institutions and Castro’s eventual successor.

For nearly half a century, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara’s socialist ideology of “el Hombre Nuevo,” has been taught to Cuban school children. On their walk to work each day, Cubans absorb the characteristically propagandistic messages of billboards denouncing the Bush Administration’s extended travel embargo, stating “Thank you, but we already live in a free Cuba.” Similarly, in America, students recite the Pledge of Allegiance beginning in kindergarten and eventually memorize pivotal documents such as the Bill of Rights; paralleling our society’s institutional reinforcement, Cubans learn about the fundamental principles upon which their government was founded. Instead of being instructed in the exaltation of the individual’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, Cubans learn to honor the collective good. If Cubans were un-phased by the news of Raul Castro’s assumption of control of Cuba’s Communist party, it may be because they have been conditioned, just as we have, to believe in their system, not just a man.