It's been a while since I've written anything on here. Life has been good and @awesomenyl's pregnancy is going well. We finally got around to getting an ultrasound, and it turns out that we're having a baby girl! I'll share the ultrasound pictures in a follow-up post to this one.
Anyway, life is great overall, and in addition to all of the blessings I've been enjoying, I recently had the opportunity to rejoice (righteously) over the death of a wicked, murderous tyrant--a man who destroyed the island that my family was forced to escape: Fidel Castro.
Now, what calls for the title of this post, as brazen as it is? Well, imagine my surprise when, as a freedom-loving Cuban-American dude living in the Philippines, the Philippine government (which, by the way, neither I nor my Filipina wife endorse) gave condolences over Castro's death and propagated falsehoods about his legacy!
Shortly after Fidel Castro's death, Malacañang Palace spat in the face of every victim of the Castro regime and took a big, stinking shit on truth itself. Among other things, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar praised Castro for "establishing universal health care and providing free education." It didn't seem to occur to him that the "free education" in Cuba is tantamount to State indoctrination and that the "universal healthcare" is...well, nonexistent. He didn't mention that any form of dissent from the State indoctrination taught in Cuban schools (and through government-controlled media) brings with it stiff penalties.
For those who care to know, there's more than one healthcare system in Cuba. There's a healthcare system for foreigners, and it's good. Cubans aren't allowed to access it. There's also a healthcare system for military and government workers. Regular Cubans aren't allowed access to that healthcare system either.
The healthcare system that the majority of Cubans have access to is basically shit, to put it crudely. Basic medicines aren't available, and if a Cuban citizen goes to the hospital, he/she better bring newspapers to wipe his/her ass with at the toilet. Bed sheets must be brought, too, and again--basic medicines aren't available. Also, the conditions are anything but sanitary. In most cases, sick and/or dying Cubans are better off staying home.
So...What, exactly, did Malacañang Palace praise but a myth? It is pure folly to extol communism and to suggest that Fidel Castro was a hero to the island of Cuba. It's mythology--a real fantasy. And thankfully, we don't have to fall for it. We don't have to believe what one demonstrably unrighteous government says about another.
Tom Woods recently conducted an interview with Humberto Fontova, who was fortunate enough to leave Cuba with his family when he was young. The Tom Woods Show is worth listening to on a regular basis, and given our topic in this post, I heartily recommend the following episode.
