The decaying dictator Fidel Castro grabbed headlines Friday for a speech that according to most headline writers mattered not for what he said, but for what he was wearing. Imagine the disgust Castro must have felt when he learned that most observers were more concerned with this style than with his substance!
Not surprisingly, those writing about Castro's speech missed the most noteworthy part about his remarks:
He made them from the famed steps at the University of Havana, where just a few weeks earlier five dissidents were arrested during a human rights demonstration. Three of the five — Luis Labrador, Eduardo Pérez and Michel Rodríguez — remain in jail, facing supposed charges of "public disorder."
The real disorder was present Friday.
The real disorder is to believe that Fidel Castro has ever had anything good to offer Cuba or the world.
The real disorder is to believe that Fidel Castro, a man who at least twice tried to convince his Soviet patrons to launch nuclear missiles at the United States, can now save the world from a holocaust.
The real disorder is to believe that Fidel Castro is not in charge of his dictatorship any less than before.
The real disorder is that more people, thanks to media coverage or lack thereof, will know more about what Castro was wearing Friday than about the modern Cuban heroes who risk what little freedom they enjoy to challenge the dictatorship and to demand that the rights of their fellow citizens be respected by their government.
Fidel Castro's speech on Friday mattered because it gives the world a chance to remember and honor three real Cuban heroes: Luis Labrador, Eduardo Pérez and Michel Rodríguez.
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