I received an email today from one of my family members that really made me sad.
It was that "Letter from a Cuban-American" one that apparently has been making the rounds. If you do a search for the quoted above text, you can see the letter for yourself.
Now, for a little history lesson.
First: Read a little about Castro:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_castro
And now a little about how Cuba became Communist:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_revolution
Castro came to power in a violent overthrow of a dictator, Batista, that had himself come to power in a military coup.
Finally, about that letter, take a look at what Snopes.com has to say about it:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/castro.asp
Now, how exactly does that letter sound like this election? I really don't think it does.
While it's all touchy feely nice that an immigrant gets to celebrate independence twice, his personal letter to the editor and subsequent extrapolation into the current election battle misses quite a few key points.
Instead of just forwarding on the next sound bite, take a minute to think about what is being said, and if it tries to come off as being genuine by making loose allusions to historical events, maybe do a little research into it to see what the real story is.
Oh, and while you're at it, head on over to http://www.barackobama.com/index.php. Obama is not too good to take even the small $5 donation from common folks like you and I, because it's people like you and me that he's running for in the first place.
