Why should you care about Cuba?

Nelson Guirado of the Asymmetric blog — the latest addition to the "Cuba blogs" list on the left — offers two solid reasons:

"First, people, anybody, really, should concern themselves with Cuba because Cuba is the festering boil in the Western hemisphere; a totalitarian drop of vinegar in a cup of democratic water. Perhaps the democratic world will never influence some parts of Africa and the Middle East to become democratic, but Cuba is easy-a no-brainer. If the democratic world concerned itself with helping Cuba, it could actually have a great impact."

"The second reason people should be concerned with Cuba is because Cuba sheds light on the pernicious hypocrisy of some political philosophies right here at home. I find it incredible that people, almost exclusively on the left, can complain about somebody like the admittedly not-good Pinochet yet laud Fidel Castro. Let’s compare for one moment: One took over, did terrible things to his opponents, had people vote, left voluntarily after giving his country the third-best economy in the hemisphere all the while allowing his people to worship as they wish, emigrate if they so chose, and have a somewhat free press. The other guy did terrible things to his people, never let his people vote, stubbornly broke records for continuous dictatorship, ruined the third best economy in the hemisphere until it was probably the third worst, totally controlled people’s lives-taking over education while eliminating all private property and freedom of worship while keeping his countrymen imprisoned on his island. So, who does the left want to kidnap and put on trial?"

Pretty good counter-points, I think, to all the crap you read about the "wonders" of Cuban education and health care and how the exiles in Miami are just a bunch of "crazy Cubans."

Nelson started blogging in October. A high school teacher in Los Angeles, he also is an officer in the Army reserves who came back from Iraq last year. Both of his parents are Cuban ( Santiago and Guanabacoa) and he claims to have seen every episode of “I Love Lucy” at least twice. Among on the offerings on his site, he promises, will be posts about Cuban music.