The day after

I read Granma the day after the election, you know, the dirty mouthpiece of Castro they call news. Yes, I read it from time to time looking for what is said, and more importantly, I look for what isn’t said. For many of us, the election of 2008 was a surprise. I was shocked to see Obama win, and knowing the praise that Castro has given him, I wanted to read what filth Granma was spewing.

One article. One homely article was given in homage to the President Elect. In many ways, Bush made more news on Granma than Obama did. For the first time, in a long time, in Granma I read an article on the US that did not mention the “Miami Mafia.” Nor was there mention of the US greedily and secretly wanting Cuba. Nothing. The favor, or shock, of Obama’s victory is so great that there are no canned complaints or exaggerated exaltations.

Interestingly enough, I found an archived article from the day before that was classic Granma. It was the bashing of McCain if he would win the Presidency. The article closed with the subheading: un voto que no vale gran cosa (a vote that is worthless). Reference was made to the 2000 election and how Gore had the White House stolen from him. This was the Popular vote vs. the Electoral vote schema, and how our electoral system is allegedly corrupt. There is no mention of this in Obama’s victory article. There is no Granma press coverage as there was when Bush won both times. The single article in Granma is sober. And as I think about it, isn’t it clear that though Castro may find su media naranja in Obama, having a black man as a US President spits in the eye of Castro’s Revolution. I’m postulating that Granma’s initial reaction is sober because it shows that in the US we can have a black president, while the Cuba after Castro is still run by old white men. Granted this scenario would have been sweeter for me had Alan Keyes, and not Obama, been the first African-American president.

The US was at one time was more racist than Cuba. In the fifties US racism was at a height and yet Cuba had a mulatto President. Castro came with a promise to uplift the colored in Cuba, and instead he equally oppressed everyone. Now the Cuban cabinet is mainly white, and in the US we have a mulatto President elect. Let’s not be fooled by Castro’s past acclaims for Obama. This is not the scenario he had hoped for in the election. Any mulatto oppressed in Cuba can now look at the US and question why a white bearded man has Governed and oppressed him and his family for almost 50 years. Also, Obama’s openness to relations with Cuba is something that Castro does not want. As crucial as the Embargo has been to hurt Castro, Castro has been using the Embargo to scapegoat his failure. The threat of an Embargo lifting leaves Castro without an excuse. It would have been easier to have a Republican to throw blame on and expose how “corrupt” is the US electoral system. Yet Obama’s win shows how our democracy works. It’s not about the few in Miami; it’s about the American people and how this country is handled. Bush failed to handle his presidency well, and because of that many people threw the blame on the party and voted against Republican. Castro has failed Cuba and no matter how many “elections” happen on the island it is clear for the Cuban people that their vote is, un voto que no vale gran cosa.

Many are skeptical and fearful about Obama. However, Obama became President through our system and our political system is greater than any individual. Our voice, our action, and our resolve is what guides this nation –not the whim of one man. America is where the cutting edge of history happens, and it happens because the people have a voice. This is something that Castro could never grasp, and something that no President can ever take away from us unless we allow it with closed mouths. Obama will have it tough –we will not be quiet on issues that endanger our country and our people. And let’s not be so sure of Castro’s acceptance of Obama; our President elect can easily become a figure for Castro’s failure in Cuba.

It is silence, and not one man, that will be the death of our democracy.