Quote:I knew this would be one justification. The, "he does bad things too", argument. You really don't see a difference between the Castro regime with sanctioned firing squads, and the US government at any point in its history? I'm trying to think of the worst thing that a US president did to his own people, even during the Civil War, or the Revolution. The POW camps were pretty awful for both sides. I can't really find an episode that is comparable.You don't need to stretch your imagination, I'd readily concede that the United States government has never domestically reached the level of the Cuban government, even at it's worst.
Quote:Let's say there was sometime when the US government rounded up all the political opposition and had them killed. I guess the closest example I can think of would be the treatment of the indigenous populations. As I tell my children, "two wrongs do not make it right". Can I not resist the tyranny in my own government, and that of Castro at the same time? I don't really need to dilute my morality and declare everyone square. For example, we've had like eight or nine different Presidents during the Castro regime. Were they all morally bankrupt? What specific incidents come to your mind perpetrated by the USA that are comparable to murdering political prisoners?Again, nothing. But nobody is proposing hugs and kisses for Cuba. You don't have to forget your history, or declare everything square. In fact, please don't. But this is just basic diplomatic relations, roughly open borders, and maybe a loosening of the embargo. You have that level of relations (or much better) with dozens of countries with similar records of oppression. The only difference here is that Cuba was supposed to be a quasi-colony, and, say, Uzbekistan wasn't.
-Jester
(Edit: I suppose there aren't many countries with "far worse" levels of overall oppression than Cuba.)