http://kulture-vulture.blogspot.com/
-- I'm reading a bio of Che by Jon Lee Anderson. The book doesn't make you love Che or hate him. It's objective, and fascinating.
The book raises two underlying issues, for me:
- Have things changed since Che's time?
- Was he fighting for a good cause against something that needs to change?
No, things have not changed. It seems to me that the CIA was trying to protect American big business interests in Latin America. The CIA was involved, I think, in the overthrow and assassination of the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende, and in the killing of Che Guevara.
What do you think? Do you want agents of our government killing people in your name, when their great sin is that they are trying to help the common man?
The same issues are present today, in the year 2011 in the USA. We have the right wingers, who want to shut down the government and protect big business. And we have the left wingers, who want to help the working class.
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
The questions for most of us are which side are we on, and how much of our own lives do we want to sacrifice for our ideals?
The power, of course, is on the side of big business, especially now, with the Supreme Court's decision in Citizen's United. Big business can spend unlimited amounts of money in politics. Big business owns both parties in this country. It's just that the Democrats are more interested in helping ordinary people, working people, who don't have the big bucks.
This division, I believe, will go on forever. But every once in a while, we can do something that will shift the balance of power, just a little bit.
That's what Che tried to do. He was successful enough that he scared the hell out of 'em.
© Copyright 2011, Roger R. Angle
http://front.moveon.org/
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