By Paul Bonicelli
Monday, November 28, 2016
Progressives’ and leftists’ outpouring of praise for
Fidel Castro at his death was to be expected, although it has been more
fulsome, tone-deaf, and cloying than I expected. For just a few examples see
President Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and United Nations
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.
Rational and moral people, however, will rightly ask,
“How would anyone aware of Castro’s more than 50 years of human rights abuses
mourn the death of a tyrant who was both an intellectual and moral idiot, much
less praise his legacy?”
The Left Loves
Collectivism
I have a few possible answers. First, many people on the
Left sold their intellects to socialism and statism long ago. Great numbers of
academics, politicians, and entertainers embraced Castro as he rose to power
then ruled for decades as a socialist dictator, because he represented the
practical application of their ideas.
Also, he clearly irritated the same people who irritated
them: conservatives, Republicans, Cold Warriors, etc. Every human rights
violation, every social and economic disaster that resulted from his foolish
socialist policies, and every military adventure he launched with his oversized
Soviet-backed military, was forgiven if not outright praised.
As a graduate student in the early 1990s I marveled at
highly educated, decent, and kind men and women in academia forgiving Castro
every sin and justifying everything he did because, I suppose, “He’s our guy.”
It seemed so childish to me. After all, I thought Gen. Augusto Pinochet was
better for Chile than a Soviet-allied Marxist politician would have been, but I
hardly excused Pinochet’s human rights crimes or pretended he was perfect. I
also wasn’t confused about who was better for U.S. national security interests.
Pretending Science
Can Govern Is Attractive
Second, many on the Left seem to have an affinity for any
leader—dictator or democrat—who claims to govern according to science, whether
that be “scientific socialism” or just plain old numbers-based public policy.
Rather than work out a view of anthropology and seek to truly understand human
beings according to our nature, it is far easier for some to default to the
materialist view of humankind.
Assume “economic man,” and then crunch numbers. That way
you can avoid moral judgments and just keep stressing that the right amount of
technical tweaks and educated guesses will produce economic viability and
social peace. Above all, ignore the “moralizers” who keep harping about all
those eggs being broken without the appearance of an omelet.
Trump Derangement
Syndrome
Third, and this is a more immediately relevant reason for
celebrating Castro, maybe the Trump derangement syndrome that affects so many
on the Left has enhanced their desire to praise whatever they think is the
opposite of the people and ideas that just won the 2016 presidential election.
Remembering how Trump galvanized the Cuban-American vote
with his articulation of views that lined up with Castro’s critics, and knowing
who his advisors are, the Left was ready for his statement at Castro’s death on
Friday. Sort of a “If he’s for it then I’m agin’ it!” attitude prevailed upon
them.
Add to that their innate understanding that Castro always
represented the leftists’ elitist ideas about the paramount role of the state
and that Trump’s victory represents the uprising of their opponents, they had
to over-praise and ignore any failings of their champion. Take your pick, but
these answers probably cover most of Castro’s fans.
The Cold War Is
Back
Finally, Castro’s death and the outpouring of praise from
his fans should remind us about the essence of the Cold War: it will never
really be over, because it was always more than a geopolitical struggle between
two nation-states. It was and is a struggle between those who value the liberty
of the individual above all else versus those who embrace utopian dreams of a
state than can solve all problems and make everyone happy, as long as the
“right people” are in charge.
I pity people who celebrate the life of Fidel Castro in a
knee-jerk reaction to salve their consciences for years of having committed themselves
to failed and morally bankrupt ideas. They are not ignorant or stupid: they
know Castro was a murderous tyrant who built a slave-state and ruined his
country and has handed on that legacy to his brother who is even now planning
to leave it to their heirs, helped along by the foolish policies of the
American president and others in the West who always think their goodwill
gestures and magnanimity will bring everyone around to a better way. Pity them
or not, however, we cannot absolve them of accommodating the Castro brothers’
crimes.
I hope that the Cuban democracy movement will be
emboldened and that with a new U.S. administration we can return to policies
and declarations that support what has always been the North Star of the
morally and intellectually correct side of the Cold War: individual human
liberty.
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