What to write?

I’ve been contemplating about what to write about Guillermo Fariñas. My colleagues have done a great job discussing his plight and I felt that I had little to contribute. But still, I wanted to say something about him because he deserves it.

He has had the courage to figuratively look fidel in the eye and say, “I’m not afraid of you. You can kill me but I’m not afraid of death and therefore you shall never break me.”

And I guess that got me to thinking about what we all try to avoid thinking about, the mortality of Man. We are going to die, each and every one of us and we know it. We don’t know the time or circumstance, but we will all certainly return to dust. So what are to make of this life? Should we live it in a blood-thirsty quest for power as castro does or should we try to leave a peaceful legacy for those that follow us like Fariñas?

Fariñas, is doing more for the Cuban people in his dignified and peaceful protest than castro has done in 47 years of firing squads, gulags, neighborhood spies, militarization and broken promises.

Long after all of the monuments of the revolution and the statues of Che and the billboards proclaiming “Vamos Bien” come down, Fariñas, a simple man who just wanted the freedom to read uncensored materials, will be remembered. He will be remembered as one of a long line of patriots and martyrs that fought for Cuban freedom, a line that castro perversely uses for propaganda purposes but one that he can never be a part of. From Marti and Maceo to Fariñas and Biscet these men fought/fight oppression they didn’t foist it.

Tonight, keep Fariñas in your prayers.