Fidel Castro, if he lives, will turn 80 this year...

Fidel Castro, if he lives, will turn 80 this year. There is no arguing that he has been one of the biggest thorns in the side of the United States for the last 50 years. We have tried to topple his government many times and achieved only embarrassment. I was in the 6th grade in 1962 and vividly remember preparing to die in a thermonuclear conflagration precipitated by the Cuban missile crisis. CIA plots to shoot, stab, poison and explode him have become the stuff of legend. That same agencies support of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, is still a painful reminder of Fidel's ability to make America appear foolishly inept.

In the 3rd World, especially in subsaharan Africa , Cuban and American irregular troops have led opposing factions against each other in a succession of bloody, inhumane wars. Wars denied by World leaders and ignored by the press. Wars that nobody won. Forgotten. Nobody wants to remember the Congo in '65 or Bolivia in '67 or Angola or Ethiopia or Chad. Nobody remembers a Congolese postal clerk named Patrice Lamumba or who Jonas Savimbi was. They remember a young expatriate Argentinean doctor, named Ernesto Gueverra but not the revolutions he died trying to foment. They remember when he came down from the mountains into Havana, dirty, bearded, wearing fatigues, smoking a big cigar, with Fidel.

Everybody remembers Fidel. They have no choice. He's still there, dirty, bearded, wearing fatigues, smoking a big cigar, leading his country, as he has been, for five decades. Like all leaders of his ilk, he is a megalomaniac. He believes not in his people, country or political creed but only in himself. Even though he has failed in all his efforts to modernize, industrialize and force Cuba to thrive, the people still love him. Why? Because he works hard and doesn't steal, attributes they know they're not likely to see again in a Cuban leader. While the cities are crumbling, they're clean. The crime rates are low. While there isn't much to share, it's shared equally. Cuba's literacy rate is higher than America's. It's healthcare system is low tech but available to all. There is not much opportunity for advancement and people still seek to leave the country, in droves, but compared to it's neighbors in the Caribbean community, it's not so bad.

I sympathize with the Cuban people. Capitalism wasn't working out for most of them 50 years ago when it ended. Communism hasn't been the panacea that they hoped it would be. George and Condi are eager to sell them the franchise, crying crocodile tears over the fact that Cuba is the only country left in the American community that is not yet a "democracy". George Bush actually believes that democracy is an economic system and that it will "cure" Cuba's problems. He also believes he's rich because he's real smart and works hard. I would hate to see Cuba become a democracy like Jamaica, the Dominican Republic or, God forbid, Haiti. I suspect many Cubans hope Fidel does live forever and things just go on as they are. That won't happen. Still, there's no reason to push Fidel into the grave prematurely. If America was really so concerned about the welfare of the Cuban people it might consider lifting the economic sanctions and easing the travel restrictions that they have imposed on Cuba for the last 47 years.