It’s everybody’s battle

In retrospect of the past Jose' my father-in-law saw in 1962 what we have to worry about today. Jose' said "It's Everybody's Battle" -- Ian Jay Germaine Do I hate Castro and the Communist? I been taught to love not hate. I think my feeling about them is one of nausea, only such as one feels toward a cancer that must be cut away before it spreads. Having infected Cuba, the cancer now seeks to spread elsewhere in Latin America.

---

What is the act of free nations? Much talk and limited action. Communism will not be stopped simply by expelling Castro from the inter-American system or declaring an embargo on U.S.-Cuban Trade. My thoughts go back to 1952. The Communist were noisily infiltrating many organizations, and the most sensitive Cubans were conscious of the danger this infiltration represented. In a meeting in a Catholic organization of which I was a member, two different courses were suggested. One, that the Catholics should only pray. Two, that the Catholics should be more aggressive and go to the streets to defend their beliefs. There is no doubt that the Catholic people of Cuba have prayed very much, but today I think events have proved that prayers must be accompanied with action. Catholics in Cuba I might add have long since come to see the truth of this, and they are among communism's most active foes--and most abused victims. But they carry their fight forward. On the 10th of September, 1961, there took place in Havana a religious procession which was thwarted by the Communists, but the thousands of people shouted, "Down with Castro! Remember Hungary! Long live Christ and the church!" Only with machineguns could the Communists militia subdue those voices. What have we put up against these machineguns? When the OAS was merely considering a meeting to discuss what to do about Cuban communism, Mexico voted against the idea, and Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Ecuador abstained. The meeting was long delayed because of the reluctance of nation in the hemisphere to take any kind of action or even to permit their territory to be used for such a meeting. They have been reluctant to Communist Cuba act against or even criticize because of fear of political repercussions in their own countries and because of economic self-interest. Businessmen inside Lain American countries fear they will lose money if the trade of the hemisphere is interrupted. These businessmen would be the first to have their properties confiscated in case of a Communist takeover. America's allies in Europe have been living next door to communism for years and are joined in a pact to fight it. Yet, when asked to join the United States in a trade embargo against Cuba, they refuse. Although the Canadian government has branded Castro a Communist, Canada continues business as usual with Cuba. Your own customs officials have discovered merchandise being smuggled out of the country to Cuba. They also know that goods are shipped to Mexico under pretense of selling them in that country, and then reshipped to Cuba in violation of the American embargo. All these things reflect a tragic failure to cope with a real and present danger. Meanwhile time ebbs. If there is no action, the Communists will be heartened and they will go ahead more boldly than ever with their plan of subversion, confident that nothing really serious will be done to stop them. Cubans still have hopes that help will come from the outside to put Castroism and communism out of control. Cubans do not see how the United States and other nations in the hemisphere can very long tolerate a form of government completely hostile to everything democracy means. I know ma man who had been seriously planning to take his family and leave Cuba, but not long ago he wrote friends in this country to say, "We are staying. We do not think the world has forgotten us. Something will be done--we are very sure of it." What can be done to justify such faith? First, the nations of this hemisphere can stand together to defend the principles of freedom. They can join in the embargo of Cuban trade, prohibit the reshipping of goods to Cuba and punish any who try to smuggle to the Communists. Thy can put up effective blockades and prevent any nation, including the Soviet Union from shipping guns to Communists Cuba. The United States can declare that any Latin American nation caught trafficking with Cuba will receive no economic aid from the United States. The free nations of the hemisphere can give strong support to Cuban exiles training to invade Communist Cuba. The United States can make a new declaration of the Monroe Doctrine which, when enforced has always been an effective bulwark for the hemisphere. Meanwhile the Latin American nations must do everything in their power to eliminate conditions of poverty and political injustice which encourage Communist subversion. Fifty percent of the people of Latin America do not have enough food to eat. Until those stomachs are filled, there will discontent and trouble. Finally the true story of Cuba is the concern of all free men from the standpoint of both self-interest and morality. Jose' Marti once said, "To witness a crime in silence is almost to commit a crime." The nations of the Americas have been witnessing in silence--or at least have been making very slight sounds. The Cubans began to see what Castro was and what he was doing. They fooled themselves by saying, "Why should I do anything? They have not touched me. If I remain quiet, they will not harm me." Many a Cuban said that only to wake up the next day to find he was next on the list. Your conservatives and liberals argue the question of communism. Yet this is not really a subject of dispute for conservatives and liberals. Under communism they both come to the same end. The freedom of expression which nourishes them is crushed without partiality. Nor is it a fight between labor or management. The Communists in Cuba aimed their appeal at workers. But they destroy the labor organizations as well as the managers. The fight is between dictators and men who aspire to be free or who want to retain the freedom they have. A person can not be neutral in a Communist country. A nation can not be neutral in a world threatened by Communism. The Reds themselves have told us that. This is everybody's battle. Communism's knock at the door is loud and distinct. What is your answer? The End? Column reprinted with permission of the Long Beach Press-Telegram