Why Are Cuban Protesters Carrying the American Flag?

             I chose the Cuban people as the VIP for this week. Some of the biggest news of the year are the massive protests that erupted in Cuba over the past weekend. The protests took place in dozens of cities, and cries of “Freedom!” and “Down with communism!” could be heard. According to some sources, these are not the usual protests, and they are being called “unprecedented in scope.” It appears that Cubans are tired of the shortages for food and medicine.

            The Cuban protests could not have come at a worst time for the communists in the United States. Bernie Sanders, AOC, and their comrades have been trying to convince Americans that socialism/communism is good. However, the communists in Cuba do not appear to be compassionate to the plight of their countrymen, and the socialized health care system does not seem to be meeting the needs of the people.

            Jarrett Stepman claims that “Cuba is exporting doctors to other countries to pay the government’s bill” at the same time that Cubans cannot access basic treatment and medicine.” He quoted The Wall Street Journal as saying that the Cuban government has tried to use “the pandemic as a way to earn hard currency for the ruling elite and boost its legitimacy around the world.” It seems that some people “are more equal than others” under communism.” According to Stepman, the problems in Cuba are nothing new. 

“Cuba promotes itself as a world-class health care powerhouse,” The Wall Street Journal noted. “But as the scabies epidemic shows, the decrepit hospital and outpatient network cannot even tend to run-of-the-mill illnesses, never mind COVID-19.”

In other words, this isn’t just an outlier from a once-in-a-century pandemic. Instead, it’s the latest catastrophe in a long history of failure and dysfunction. The material deprivation Cubans frequently face is hardly imaginable to the average American.

Remember when the U.S. was hit with a toilet paper “shortage” in the early days of the pandemic? It was short-lived and hardly a problem at all. More than a few Americans likely still have huge stockpile in their homes after panic-buying a lifetime supply.

Shortages far, far worse than what Americans have ever experienced are a regular occurrence for our Caribbean Island neighbor, even in prosperous times.

The protests are a result of more than a half-century of misrule under the Marxist regime that began with Fidel Castro. In a country in which freedoms of speech and assembly are deeply controlled by the government, many have had enough and are willing to take to the streets anyway.

The sheer economic deprivations are one thing, but even more unimaginable for most Americans to even contemplate is life under ruthless totalitarianism.

            An “interesting phenomenon” is the fact that some of the Cuban protesters were carrying the American flag. It seems that the Stars and Stripes are more important to the Cubans than for some Americans. I wonder if it is possible to trade the socialists and communists in the United States for the Cubans who are protesting for freedom and liberty. It is just a thought, but it should be considered.

            People living in America and enjoying the freedom and liberty of this nation are protesting the Stars and Stripes, saying that the flag is oppressive. To the Cubans, the American flag represents freedom. People, who want to change our economy into socialism because the free-market system is bad, should move to Cuba where they could enjoy the socialistic lifestyle. I feel certain that the Cubans living under totalitarianism would be grateful for the freedoms and liberties of America. I notice that the American socialists have been quiet the past few days. It appears that the Cuban protests are showing that socialism is not that great!