Fidel Castro

In a speech he gave January 3, Fidel has proven himself to be understanding of what should be concerning all the world's people and leaders. And reminding us, without repeating it, of a concern that His Slowliness the Dope hopefully isn't as stupid as he appears to be. (Alas, Fidel, I fear he is.)

The course of events must change or else our species will not survive

• Speech given by Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Republic of Cuba, at the Karl Marx Theater on January 3, 2004

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Excerpts:

The big difference between the age of the Greeks and our age lies not in the intellectual capacity of our species but in the exponential and seemingly infinite development of science and technology that has taken place in the last 150 years, and which completely eclipses the negligible and ridiculous political capacity we have shown for facing up to the risk of perishing as a species, a risk which really is threatening humanity.

The lives of the billions of human beings who inhabit this planet depend on what a few think, believe and decide. ... We cannot just accept this. We have the right to denounce it, to exercise pressure and demand changes and an end to such an absurd, unheard of situation, which makes hostages of us all. No one should ever have such powers or else no one on this earth will be able to talk of civilization again.

There is another lethal problem as well: nearly 40 years ago some people began to voice their concerns over what has come to be called the environment, because a barbarous civilization was destroying the natural conditions for life. This extremely sensitive issue was then put on the table for the first time. Quite a few people thought it was just some alarmists exaggerating, a kind of neo-Malthusianism, like in previous centuries...They were, in fact, well-informed and intelligent people who took to building a public awareness on this issue, at times worried sick that it was too late to take useful measures. Regrettably, those who due to their great political responsibilities should have shown greater concern, showed only ignorance and disregard.

...It would be a good idea to ask the Olympic champions of human rights in the West if they have ever used a single minute to reflect on these realities, which to a very large degree are the result of the current economic and social system. It would be worth asking them how they feel about a system that, instead of educating the masses as a fundamental element for making progress in the search for urgently needed, viable solutions, with the support of science, technology and culture, spends one trillion dollars every year on alienating consumerist advertising. With the money spent in just one of those years to spread this peculiar poison, all the illiterate and semi-illiterate people in the world could be taught to read and write and even reach ninth grade in less than ten years and no poor child would have to go without schooling.


The speech is worth reading - it's not all that long - and then pondering the difference between a socially-environmentally aware leadership and what we have had here - at least in my lifetime. (Incidentally, as Left I asks, if we have the best health care system in the world, why do we have a higher infant mortality rate than third world Cuba? We have the highest infant mortality rate in the developed world - in fact, according to the March of Dimes August 2002 report, we ranked 28th in a list of 38 countries, including both first and third worlds.)

The only thing close to a concerned, species-aware politician we have is Dennis Kucinich. Don't expect him to get near the White House. Sorry. It just can't happen. It's got nothing to do with electability.

Castro's conclusion:

A summary of all that I have said shows my profound conviction that our species, and with it each one of our peoples, are at a turning point in their history: the course of events must change or else our species will not survive. There is no other planet we can move to. There is no atmosphere, no air and no water on Mars, neither is there any transportation for us to emigrate there en masse. Either we save this what we have, or many millions of years will have to go by before another intelligent species arises that can start all over again the adventure we have gone through.

I think that perhaps this is where we are in terms of human and planetary evolution. Time for the reset button to be pressed in the infinite cycle of "the human adventure". Hopefully, there is a quantum leap to be made into a new adventure for those who have understood where "ignorance and disregard" and "alienating consumerism" lead. Otherwise, we go back to soup bowl one.

Unless Frodo can destroy the ring in time.

Just typing my way to the House Un-American Gulag....

....but hey, you do what you want....you will anyway.