LIVE BY THE SWORD, DIE BY THE SWORD

In the past forty-seven years, Fidel Castro has spewed out numerous speeches and tons of communist propaganda. One recurrent theme is the threat of an American invasion on the island. He has done everything possible to alarm the populace and keep them mobilized and ready. His soul mate in Venezuela is following the tyrant’s lessons to the letter. “We need to amass a volunteer militia force!” “We need to buy boats, tanks, helicopters, and planes!” “We need to buy all kinds of weapons!” “Call Spain, call Russia, call ghostbusters, anybody who will take my money!” That is how I imagine a typical day in Hugo Chavez’s life.

Do Castro and Chavez really believe the United States of America is planning an invasion of Cuba or Venezuela? They do not. This is not 1960 or 1961, a time before the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion, a time before President John F. Kennedy left those fighting Cubans in the lurch, a time before he promised not to touch Castro ever again if Russia removed their missiles from Cuba. If I am wrong on this, somebody correct me, please!

So, if neither Castro nor Chavez truly believes the U.S. is planning to invade, why do they keep up this façade? First, as Hitler used to do, they do it to fire up the nationalistic spirit. It is an Us against Them kind of thing. That way, people will be united and busy preparing to fight the foreign invader, rather than thinking about domestic affairs and how their government is screwing up big time, destroying democracy and all its institutions. Second, and more important, they do it because they know that is what they deserve. They rule by force, using oppressive tactics—the main reason Castro has stayed in power for so long. Therefore, whether or not they believe in karma, they fear karma. Whether or not they believe in God, they fear the Wrath of God. They have lived by the sword, and they know they should die by the sword—if anybody had the nerve to do it.

If the O.A.S., the Organization of American States, or the United Nations had true moral leadership, Castro and his malevolent revolution would have been gone a long time ago. An embargo, a blockade, an invasion: they would have done whatever was necessary to liberate the defenseless Cuban people. So far, however, they have shown neither the moral leadership nor the courage to do the right thing: to make sure that those who live by the sword, die by the sword. What are they waiting for, a Messiah?