Since the assassinations of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy (and the Vietnam War that had much to do with all three) it has been hard for historically-literate and open-minded Americans to generate much patriotic fervor on the Fourth of July. But they should have been skeptical long before those idealism-shattering events. My own seriously deficient high school education in world and American history has necessitated decades of catch-up reading and research in order to find the truth about the dark, covered-up  underbelly of America.

On June 23, 2021 the United States was one of two nations that voted against a United Nations UN) resolution condemning the embargo on Cuba. Israel was the other opposing vote. There were 184 nations voting in favor.

Most member states and citizens around the world feel that the embargo on the island nation of Cuba is outdated, unnecessary and worthy of condemnation. Many members feel that the United States’ current stance on Cuba is barbaric and a remnant of the cruel competition of the Cold War. For decades, this same resolution has been passed without much disagreement from other parties. Many ambassadors and representatives from member countries shared their opinions regarding why the embargo is unnecessary and the need to lift it.

Antonio Rodrigue, ambassador of Haiti, was quoted in the New York Times, stating: “The lifting of the economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed against Cuba would improve the prospects for peace, cooperation, and development in the region.”

Remarks for Peace and Justice Works, June 24, 2021

For a while, I have been in favor of the United States lifting the embargo they and their allies placed on Cuba. I have felt that the policy was nothing more than an imperialistic desire to have Latin America run by those they prefer to have in power.

I feel that the United States should be concerned with what goes on in their own borders as opposed to dictating how other nations operate and so forth. If it is NOT within our borders, it most certainly is NOT our business to get involved and dictate how others should operate. The imposition of this policy has been the result of a bloody game of chess that the US and USSR were playing with one another during the Cold War period.

When will we as a nation admit it? Barbara Lee was right.

She was the only member of Congress to vote against the Authorization for the Use of Military Force back in 2001, following the 9/11 disaster, which allowed George W. Bush to invade Afghanistan. A year later she voted against a second AUMF that launched the invasion of Iraq and Bush’s alleged Global War on Terror, a.k.a., our endless war to pummel evil into dust and sweep it out of the universe.