The Republican Fear

March 1, 2009

Letter to the Editor of
The Miami Herald
One Herald Plaza
Miami, FL 333132


RE: Rebuttal letter to Fernando J. Milanes opinion published in your edition of February 27, 2009

I am flabbergasted at your decision of publishing such a poorly conceived opinion, based on a clear partisan ideology by one of your readers. I do read, once in a while your publication, but I must confess I am not a fan of The Miami Herald because in my opinion it tends to follow one party, the republican one.

That out of the way, here is my answer to Mr. Milanes who, perhaps, considers himself a modern Nostradamus? His predictions have no base, except on that of a solid pitiful background created by fear. Because of fear, Cuba is the way it is today. Fleeing a country because we were afraid of his leader was not the answer. You stay and fight for your country’s freedom and for your rights. You don’t escape in massive numbers to another country to incorporate that fear in your everyday thinking in another country. Unfortunately, many of these “experts” see Fidel Castro in every situation that means change. To them change is bad, because the change that occurred in Cuba was ultimately awful and they did nothing to prevent it, or because they had no help from the outside, and when they did get an attempt of help (Bay of Pigs), it was a complete screw up by the C.I.A, although most republicans blame John F. Kennedy for that. The fact is that we already got a change, for the worse, because prior to Bush’s era, the USA was a real democracy. We, the people, lost for almost eight years that freedom that characterizes our country. The Patriot Act, most probably according to this guy, was necessary to avoid another 9/11. He surely approves of it although it is exactly the same thing he is afraid of…Socialism. We can’t apply freedom to our convenience. To Mr. Milanes freedom was escaping from Fidel. That was somehow understandable. Today freedom, according to Mr. Milanes, is anything conceived and supported by his republican party. Never mind spying on people’s phone lines and sending to Guantanamo possible suspects, without a trial and due process. Exactly like Fidel Castro’s dictatorial regime. The one he escaped from, if he was born there, and the one he is so afraid that we may end up with in the United States.

When he uses the word “utopic” for the future Obama wants to re-establish, he does not realize he is telling us that the way we lived in this country prior to George W. Bush was almost a utopic world. Where unemployment was 4%, where we had a surplus of billions of dollars, and where we lived without fear of someone listening to our conversations and where we had no wars. I am referring, of course to the Clinton era, the same Clinton that, according to the right wing republicans had nothing to do with that surplus, as the foundation was laid out much earlier by a second rated movie star who became president, Ronald Reagan. It is the way it is with right wing republicans. They never lose, and all good in this country is because of them. It is, nonetheless, their right to their opinion and to never admitting being wrong. What can we expect of them when their three big heroes, besides their blindness living in denial about George W. Bush, are comedian Rush Limbaugh, life frustrated viper tongue Ann Coulter, and hillbilly Sarah Palin.

Obviously, Mr. Milanes is upset because his candidate lost the elections. It is hard to accept defeat, but it is even harder when we are in total denial of the facts to the point of declaring that McCain/Palin was the experienced ticket!

As far as “being patient” I can see how patient he has been by giving Obama a chance to prove his plan is the right one. Exactly one month! One month to decide that Obama’s plan is the wrong one, while he still, after eight years of Bush’s presidency, thinks that the opposition hates Bush not because he was one of the worst presidents this country ever had, but because of “hysteria”!

How much money does Mr. Milanes make? Hopefully for him a lot, as he mocks the crisis we are in by writing that word in quotes. Is he afraid that all the loopholes he used to enjoy are going to be done with soon? And the changing of our way of life, as he erroneously points out, is exactly what we suffered during a republican president for the last seven years ( I gave Bush one full year to show what he was capable of accomplishing for this country, not one month as Obama is getting from this guy).

“Our future system will convert to a socialist democracy a la Europe”. What a deep thought! And how dangerous it is to have a system where the middle class runs the country! Similar to what Cuba enjoyed during Batista, where the middle class lived comfortably and happy during a time when that beautiful island was one of the most advanced countries in the world. I suppose Mr. Milanes either did not belong to the middle class then or, since I do not know his age, he was probably born in the USA, and speaks without proper knowledge of the facts.

The capitalistic “values” will never be terminated. First because he used the word “values” for capitalism. There is no value in greed and wanting everything at the expense of everyone else. And second, because capitalism can never die in the USA. It will just have to bear the same responsibilities that everyone else will during our recovery, instead of having a small percentage of people benefiting from all the tax breaks and loopholes given to them by an unfair republican government favoritism.

One of the problems with this gentleman is that he has no faith in the American people because he wrongly sees a reflection of what happened to him and/or other Cuban citizens. Americans are resilient, freedom fighters, fair and willing to sacrifice if need be. Obama, with the help of all of us, will produce in due time the turnaround needed to clean up the mess that the republicans created and dumped on us thanks to a government hands-off policy by George W. Bush and company.

I welcome the fact, as per Mr. Milanes, that workers will do better than entrepreneurs, followers better than leaders. It is about time that the middle class gets compensated with a fair salary and where Unions will fight for the employees once again, to avoid being oppressed and abused by the “ Enron’s” in our corporate world and by the present corrupted Bank system. As a small detail, we, for example, will have as consumers some customer service, which disappeared during the last years, as a way for big corporations to reduce costs by laying off personnel. Happy workers are more consumer oriented than those who are miserable in their jobs, as we have been experiencing for a long time. That includes doctors and their staff.
As a matter of fact when employees in a company do “better” than their leaders, the company profits from excellent production and quality, which in turn leads to more profits. I wrote the word better in quotes because employees will never make more money or have better benefits than their leaders. It has to do with corporate structure in the authority ladder, and that is normal.

And as far as small businesses being hampered by Obama measures, Mr. Milanes is again wrong, purposely of course, as he very well knows that Obama’s intentions are precisely to help the small businesses. This is a fact that he selectively ignores to allow his prophecies game follow the fear tactics of sinister Mr.Cheney. Isn’t that a way to control the people?

The price of gasoline will go up? So what happened during Bush? Did it go down? Where was Mr. Milanes when gas was over $4 a gallon? Maybe In Europe enjoying the good food, the monuments, and free medical and hospital assistance? Those are some of the benefits that those poor Europeans suffer in their “socialistic” ran countries, while they envy our crippled Health Care system, and our ignorance about world geography and world idiosyncrasy to better deal with other countries.

I am so afraid of government controlled education! Imagine… we’ll be able to compete for better jobs! And all our graduated high school students will be able to study a career due to government grants and other financial support! That is so dangerous!

“Defense spending will be reduced”. Reduced to what? To a normal level? Because right now we are spending more on defense that it is necessary. We could call our current defense spending a “Fear Budget”. The defense budget must be based on needs, not on fear. America never feared the enemy, but unfortunately, in the last eight years, that has been our modus operandi. The money for our defense needs to be readjusted and assigned according to where and how terrorism operates, not where we may think there are weapons of mass destructions, without any proof of it. The Iraq invasion/war was another republican catastrophic decision that has affected all Americans, including those who refuse to accept this fact. Of course it did help the Bushes oil interests in Saudi Arabia, and Cheney’s reconstruction companies.

“Our utilities will go up with Obama’s plan”? I guess Mr. Milanes has never lived in the east of the United States, where gas or electric heating is at an average of $300 a month now. Or perhaps he feels that a $300 monthly bill is fair to a single person in a 2 bedroom apartment.

I do also worry about those automobiles being out of reach to anyone’s pocket. Imagine a “socialistic” hybrid Honda Civic for $24,000, while you could get a “capitalistic” Hammer tank to drive through congested local streets for a mere $60,000?

Yeah, let’s not allow either to have the size of our homes reduced, when we all thrive for big mansions with 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, a swimming pool with separate bath room in the yard, and a 3 car garage!

What about the size of our television sets? Would we be able to live with a 12 inch TV set? Or are we so stupid that we would not buy instead a 42 inch for the same price? Here I am totally stunned. Could it be that Mr. Milanes owns a 10- foot TV set in his 5 bedroom mansion?

And, Mr. Milanes, for your information, Wall Street is part of the problem, while Obama’s government is part of the solution. Please do not confuse Magnesium with Gymnasium. They are two totally different things.

Last, but not least, you finally talk clear and to the point when in your last paragraph you state “The big question is, have our population changed so much that most want this liberal agenda. Maybe so, I do hope not”. You hit it right on the nail…LIBERAL. That is what bothers you. Liberals won this election. Republicans lost it. You lost it. Your final statement sounds to me like one of a sore loser, and for the sake of your principles I hope I am wrong on this assumption. However, that is what your letter is all about….LIBERALS!

Contrary to your convenient confused opinion, I hope that president Obama succeeds for the best of America, which will also benefit you. We can’t win them all, Mr. Milanes, can we?

David Gonzalez