america – Page 7 – Oscar Valdes

Guns and Abortion. Deep in Texas

They’re sitting at a bench in a park. Pete and Joe, old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a while and met up at a nearby store.

Pete – I don’t get it.

Joe – What’s that?

Pete – You are a staunch supporter of the right to bear arms, to be able to carry without a permit.

Joe – Got that right. Mark of my freedom. There isn’t a dark alley I can’t go into. There’s no man stronger than me. No man taller than me. No man meaner than me. So long as I have my gun at my side.

Pete – The equalizer?

Joe – That’s it.

Pete – Of course, I know you, Joe, and you wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Joe – Unless it decided to mess with me.

Pete – Right.

Joe – Freedom, Pete, that’s what it’s all about.

Pete – But Joe, I feel free and yet, I don’t feel the need to have a gun with me at all times. I mean, I keep one at home, just in case some nut wants to break in for whatever reason.

Joe – You ever fired it?

Pete – I haven’t.

Joe – You’d better practice or you’re liable to hurt yourself instead when the time comes to use it.

Pete – You’re right. I keep putting it off. But back to the main question. I don’t feel the need to have a gun when I’m out and about… not like you do.

Joe – Well, you and me are different. I like to cover every possibility.

Pete – Aren’t you being paranoid when you insist on always being armed?

Joe – I’ve thought about that. And maybe I am… a little… but stuff happens when you least expect it and that’s no paranoia. It’s the freedom, Pete, that’s what it’s all about. Freedom. Personal boundaries. No one bothers me. You should try it sometime. Clears your mind.

Pete – I’d be worried I’d overreact.

Joe – I don’t overreact. How do I know the other guy is not carrying too?

Pete – You have a lot of control.

Joe – Gun at my side reminds me of it.

Pete – Not carrying a gun reminds me to think of alternatives. Are there men, or women, meaner than me, stronger than me? Yes. And so be it. Every person, man or woman, has their power. I have mine.

Joe – You say it to yourself every day?

Pete – I do. I say it to myself all the time. And it helps me be more tolerant of others. More compassionate. And more careful.

Joe – I can do the exact same thing and still have the gun for insurance. Just in case the mental exercise doesn’t work. You said it before. Guns are the equalizer. I’m the master of my life.

Pete – I know you and I know you as a man of restraint. But not everyone with the right to carry a weapon is.

Joe – That’s true.

Pete – What about those who take advantage of the right to carry a gun and then go on to kill innocent people?

Joe – Messed up. Really messed up. But there are other ways to keep people from doing that.

Pete – There are, but it takes time and effort to spot and work with them and it’s so much easier to buy a gun and shoot away.

Joe – Pete… I understand it’s not fair… all those shootings… in fact it’s pretty messed up… but that’s not enough to justify depriving the rest of us law abiding citizens of the privilege to carry.

Pete – The cost in lives is huge. How many people died in Vegas in 2017?

Joe – Nearly 60 and over 500 injured. It pained me deeply to see that happen.

Pete – Freedom has a price?

Joe – Yes.

Pete – Did you ask yourself where was god in Vegas?

Joe shakes his head slowly as he looks down at the ground.

Joe – It could be… that my children will grow up not to think the same way I do. I mean, they will go to college in other states where the laws are different… but there’ll always be Texas. And if you don’t want to carry you don’t have to, but it’s there if you do. I don’t have the answer. I don’t think we should be selling guns to people we know will be using them to coerce or kill others. It’s messed up. I’m against that. Free enterprise ought to have some limits.

They look at each other.

Pete – You believe in abortion?

Joe – No. It’s not right to take a life God created.

Pete – But it’s not god creating the life, it’s a man and a woman coming together.

Joe – If they came together and she conceived it’s because God wanted it.

Pete – Didn’t you say a little while ago that you were the master of your life, that having a gun gave you that feeling?

Joe – Yes, I did.

Pete – Where does god come into it? Well, it’s the same with a woman. If she has sex with a man of her own free will, then she’s opening up the possibility of creating a life. She is. Not god.

Joe – But once you create it, that’s it. It should stay that way.

Pete – Wait up. When you carry a weapon, you’re giving yourself the right to end a life that threatens yours. You are acting as the master of your life. Why doesn’t that apply to a woman?
Maybe she just changed her mind, or didn’t intend to get pregnant and an accident happened. She has her right over the life creating capacities of her body, just like you have the right to put a stop to anything that threatens your life. No different.

Joe – Hmm.

Pete – You will fight for the right to deter or end the life of anyone threatening yours, but you don’t allow women the same choice.

Joe – How’s pregnancy threatening a woman’s life?

Pete – It’s a life altering condition for a woman. Significantly so. Anything can happen. To their health or the baby can be deformed.

Joe -They can always give the baby away.

Pete – Don’t think that’s easy to do. But we should ask a woman. I find it difficult to comprehend that people can be so insistent on depriving others of the right to their bodies. And that those same people may be ardent believers in the right to bear weapons, which means the right to fire them and to injure or kill others. Those who oppose abortion are saying that women don’t have the right to enjoy the fullest of freedoms, the right to own their bodies, which you so proudly assert when you insist on the right to bear arms.

They are silent for a moment

Joe – Women can bear arms, too…

Pete – Yes… but can’t fire them to stop a law that forbids abortions.

They turn to look at each other.

Joe (cracking a smile) – There’s work to do.

They laugh.

Pete – Now, there are politicians… and other leaders… who will stir up feelings just to get elected… and do the least possible to make us think.

Joe – I can think of a few. I even fell for it, once or twice. Not proud of it, either.

Pete – But you’re willing to reflect, Joe… imagine all those who don’t bother. And if their numbers add up enough, they get to rule us.

Joe – It’s happened.

Joe takes off his hat. Holds it in his hands, looks at it.

Joe – How’s the wife?

Pete – We’re separated right now.

Joe – What?

Pete – Been together 25 years… only man she’s ever known. She’s a good woman. We love each other. But the kids are all grown and on their own… and she said she wanted to try something different.

Joe – I’m sorry, man. But that’s freedom for you.

Pete – Twenty five years is a long time…

Joe – The world is vast… and worth exploring.

Pete – Very true.

Joe – When did this happen?

Pete – 6 months ago.

Joe – You miss her?

Pete – Yes. I figure we get to learn how deep we went into each other.

Joe nods, puts his hat back on as he looks off.

Joe – It can happen to any of us. Hope she finds what she’s looking for. You ever need me, just give a holler.

Pete – Thanks.

Oscar Valdes. Oscarvaldes.net

Where Are you Joe Biden?

Photo by Abdullah Ghatasheh on Pexels.com

The inability to come to an agreement in Washington has created much unease, and there’s more to come.

Biden’s budget will be pared down. But that would be okay – the budget was ambitious to begin with – were it not for progressive and moderate democrats tearing each other down and sending the negative signal that we can’t get it together, that we can’t compromise.

Biden has had a full plate but he’s not stepping up to reassure the country.

Will the debt ceiling be raised in time? I think so, but it just might not, not because it is intentional but because with all the infighting we could run out of time.

And the markets will sink, a recession will set in and the sense that leadership is deeply flawed will be seared in our minds.

Mr Biden, you’re the president of this country. You are no longer the senator from Delaware.

It is good that you have negotiating skills to make deals but you have an obligation to the voters to address us all.

In these difficult times you should be taking 5 minutes of your time every other day to speak to us directly to reassure us that the debt ceiling will be raised.

You are now the President. Not the senator.

And just what is the point of delaying the endorsement of Jerome Powell as Fed chairman? Trying to score points with progressives, score points with Senator Warren?

Mr Biden, reach into yourself and find the same resolve that you did when you chose to pull us out of Afghanistan. Then you spoke with assuredness, with conviction.

We need that again.

Republicans, meanwhile, five times more dysfunctional than democrats and toxic to the core, are increasing their chances of winning both houses next year. And that will be on you.

Voters have short memories.

If you don’t step up you will coast to a one term presidency – Harris won’t be able to fulfill her promise, and we’ll have Trump or a clone (Haley) again at the helm.

What kind of legacy will that be?

Meanwhile, at the politburo in Beijing, they are smiling broadly,

‘Americans are falling on their own sword. Again.’

oscarvaldes.net

Afghanistan. Now Cuba

Mr Biden, you got us out of Afghanistan. It took courage and determination but you got it done.

Thank you. And you are right. History will show you made the right decision.

It is very hard to make smooth transitions under any circumstances, and Afghanistan was a rough one from the start.

Critics of your choice abounded, and they relished what they saw as a chance to diminish you but in the end diminished themselves.

So we now turn that page and open this next one, Cuba.

We can’t rely on the old tactic of the embargo. That won’t do. It hasn’t worked.

Whereas in Afghanistan there were many calculations to make, Cuba is markedly different.

What we need is to lift the embargo. That is it.

Will lifting the embargo prolong the life of the dictatorial elite? Maybe. But lifting the embargo will more likely be a greater bonus for the people of Cuba, who will then be better prepared to eventually do away with that cruel and oppressive regime.

The Cuban system is destined to crumble from within, not from externally imposed sanctions.

No protest in Cuba has a chance to overthrow the regime because it stands well armed by China or Russia or both, and will not hesitate to fire upon fellow Cubans to crush whatever menace is on the rise.

Lifting the embargo, on the other hand, offers the chance of broadening and deepening the productive capacity and initiative of the Cuban people, and then they will come up with the ideas and the timing to oust the government.

Please think of the image you will be projecting to the rest of South America and the world. ‘We will not stand in the way of men and women seeking their freedom.’

Holding on to the embargo has only brought misery to the people.

You have the unique chance of following the success of Afghanistan with the opportunity to enlarge the lives of all Cubans and by extension the lives of other men and women in the world.

Yesterday, I read that Mikhail Gorbachev is now 90 years old. A play has opened in Moscow to celebrate his life. It’s a two person play, Gorbachev and his wife Raisa. I had the great pleasure of seeing him and even asking him a question at a forum in downtown Los Angeles shortly after being replaced by Boris Yeltsin in 1991.

Recently, he attended a rehearsal of the play in his honor and at the end stood up to an ovation. The article said he had nothing to add to the play. The only thing he said was, ‘It’s all about freedom.’

To Gorbachev alone belongs the enormous distinction of having broken up the Soviet Union.

Cuba, Mr Biden, offers you a wonderful opportunity to enlighten the minds of men and women throughout the world.

In the same way that you freed us from the onerous burden of Afghanistan, you have the unique opportunity to say to the Cuban people, ‘Let not an embargo stand in your way, take from free markets what you must, find your strength in the power of ideas, and fight to gain your freedom. We Americans will be rooting for you.’

Oscar Valdes. Oscarvaldes.net

Afghanistan. Biden’s Unfair Critics. Issue 3

Yesterday, an opinion writer in the Wall Street Journal compared Biden’s decision to leave Afghanistan to Britain’s Neville Chamberlain’s backing off from a confrontation with Hitler prior to WWII. He could not be more wrong.

There is no shortage of resolve in Mr Biden and those who think so will pay dearly if they choose to test him.

That the pullback from Afghanistan has been messy was hard to avoid.

Afghanistan’s fall will not diminish our standing in the world, while here at home there is already a sense of relief.

Afghanistan has little geopolitical importance and given the support the Taliban has had from neighboring Pakistan, the task of containing them was an impossible one.

Mistakes were made, no doubt. But we will learn from them.

The pullback from Afghanistan is a key part of Biden’s move to rebuild our nation.

The WSJ opinion writer does not get that. He does not even mention it.

The omission is reflective of a glaring mistake, that of believing that our country can continue to wage all manner of international missions without addressing the problems we have here at home.

Biden understands the national priorities while he remains attuned to the major international movements that call for a national repositioning, and so he and his team have crafted the Build Back Better program to make us stronger and deal effectively with China.

Biden’s vision is clear. We need a stronger America.

The loud criticisms he’s got, primarily from the political Right, are mostly partisan politics, coming from an opposition party which lacked the vision to plan ahead, got trounced at the polls and then chose to not challenge their president’s assertion that the election had been fraudulent, which led to the unprecedented assault on the Capitol on January 6^th.

The WSJ opinion writer just doesn’t get it. We are deep in the midst of a transformative agenda to strengthen America and give everyone a fair chance.

Our resources are not limitless.

Twenty years in Afghanistan is a heck of an investment in another nation.

But it is up to Afghans to stand on their own and make their choices.

Oscar Valdes. Oscarvaldes.net

Afghanistan. Biden Has the Guts. Issue 2

We should have left long ago, but it took a President Biden to say, ‘enough is enough.’

It took a man like Biden to say, ‘I was elected president of the American people, and will do what I must to improve their lot.’

That takes guts.

Presidents came and went but it took Biden to say, ‘it’s time. We have to leave.’

And no one, no one, could in their right mind, expect a tidy exit.

The same way that no one had thought that the Afghan army, stronger in numbers than the Taliban, would choose to lay down their arms as the mujahideen advanced.

Was their country not worth fighting for?

That will be on the consciences of Afghans to deal with.

As to the chaos at the airport in Kabul, it will soon settle down as evacuations come to an end in the next few days. And if it doesn’t, so be it.

We need to rebuild our nation. We need to work on improving the skills level of our citizens, their education and health, all of which will result in greater wellbeing and productivity.

Many of our cities and rural areas are in desperate need of attention and assistance.

President Biden sees that. But the whole lot of his critics, both Republicans and Democrats, who claim to be aghast at the messy exit and the tragic scenes of Afghans clinging to a moving airplane on the tarmac of the Kabul airport, instead of empty blabber, should take a good look at themselves and ask if they’re not being unfair with Biden.

Afghanistan had long ago ceased to be geopolitically important and yet we stayed and stayed.

Almost 2500 American soldiers have died in the effort.

It has taken a president like Biden, who is mindful of our people’s needs, to put things in perspective and better allocate our resources.

It was time to leave. And it is time to reassess our role in defense of others around the world.

Here in our nation, we, the citizens, have a right to not be the victims of senseless violence. We, the citizens, have a right to have the opportunity to be the best we can be.

We can and will help others in need elsewhere in the world, even when it takes something that we ourselves don’t have enough of, but we cannot be careless with how we use our resources.

For we have also a duty to remind those we help, that they must do all they can to help themselves.

Our interventions abroad must be time limited. Are we in northern Syria to support the Kurds? Then we must make it clear that the arrangement is not permanent. Same with Iraq.

We have a large military base in Qatar, which should be enough as far as the Middle East is concerned.

The wide political divide here at home is a glaring sign of long standing neglect.

What is the use of sending troops all over the world if we don’t manage our problems here at home?

Working hard to improve our people, will help us project an image of strength that is fully grounded in reality.

Oscar Valdes. Oscarvaldes.net

News and the Markets. Afghanistan has Fallen. Issue 1

But what effect will it have on the markets?

I think it will have a positive effect. There might be a downward blip come Monday but then the Dow will rebound.

For too long it’s been clear we had no business staying there. Neighboring Pakistan had persistently undermined our efforts to prop up the anti Taliban regime in Kabul.

Biden’s decision to pull out, which I believe was the right one, accelerated what was long felt to be an inevitable outcome. Afghans who were not on the Taliban’s side did not put enough effort into preparing for the resistance.

Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan’s president, flew out earlier today to Tajikistan, a former Soviet Republic that shares a border.

Hamid Karzai, a previous president, has stayed behind with his three daughters and has offered to take part in the transition of power, but it’s all up to the Taliban.

Will the new regime be as backwards and repressive as the one that we displaced in 2001?

There is reason to believe they may not. Our twenty year presence has left an imprint and largely positive. We have left evidence of how things can be done differently.

Next door, in Iran, a more modern version of a Muslim government is in place, one which allows women to go to school, work and even hold political office. Maybe that will influence the new rulers.

We will see.

Does the fall of Afghanistan represent a political setback for Biden? I don’t think so, though many will try to depict it as such.

Initial reports from Kabul say that the evacuation of foreign diplomats is proceeding unhindered. President Biden sent additional troops to facilitate the process.

Oscar Valdes. Oscarvaldes.net

Afghanistan is Lost

Recently, in the wake of the surging Taliban offensive which soon will lead to the final assault on Kabul, the capital, an Afghan man was quoted as saying, ‘You didn’t fix the problem.’

He was angry that America was leaving his land.

America had come and stayed for 20 years but now was leaving and the Taliban would take over again.

Women would once again be forced to marry and wear the all-enveloping burqas, their possibilities for personal development deeply curtailed.

‘You didn’t fix the problem,’ said the man.

There is passivity in those words. The expectation that others are to fix the problem. The problem, of course, is the Taliban. The brutally rigid group of Afghans who wish to return to rule the country in the name of Islam.

Did America fail?

Yes, we did. Failed to fire up in Afghans who are open to change, the will and power needed to fight off the repressive Taliban and rebuild the nation.

But Afghans knew all along that America and their NATO allies would not stay forever. We had gone there to root out the terrorist group Al Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks and then stayed to boost the country’s modernization.

Afghans had to know that the foreigners would not stay forever – it was not their land – but failed to use that opportunity to summon up their own courage and work steadily to overcome their national differences and be prepared to fight the enemy.

‘You didn’t fix the problem’ is the lament of a frustrated man who, having seen how much different life can be, now will have to abide by whatever the Taliban says.

If he has a daughter over 15, then she is ready for marriage to a Taliban fighter if they so wish. Her choice is irrelevant. And truncated are her possibilities as a full human being.

‘You didn’t fix the problem,’ is the cry of Afghans who didn’t band together to stop the forces of darkness they knew were just waiting for the foreigners to leave.

But can Afghans still rise in defense of their land? I don’t think so. Of course, miracles can happen. But the likelihood is that the world has to prepare itself to read report after report of people executed because they were enemies of the Taliban.

And as soon as the dust and smoke settles after fighters on the ground capture Kabul and take over the entire country, the Taliban’s supreme leaders, now in comfortable settings in Qatar and under that government’s protection, will make their triumphant return.

The number of the executed will keep growing and we will be reminded of Myanmar’s tragedy.

Yes, America had to leave. It was time. We had to leave because we have to rebuild our nation.

Rebuild because we are not united and if we remain so we will lose our land.

But we should ask ourselves, how hard did we try to get Afghans to say, ‘We must fix our problem. It is our problem. Others can help us and we will be most grateful, but it is our problem to fix.’

Oscar Valdes. Oscarvaldes.net

What Biden Could be Saying to Americans as Afghanistan Falls

‘Fellow Americans… it is with a sad heart that we witness the gradual fall of Afghanistan.

We went there 20 years ago to root out Al Qaeda and find Osama Bin Laden. In the process we connected with the Afghan people. Heard their stories, their fears of being ruled by a repressive regime. We opened schools and a university and tried our best to share our values, the right of every human being to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

We spent an enormous amount of money building up their armed forces, and our brave soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder with them against the Taliban.

Nearly 2500 of our soldiers died in the struggle.

I wish I could now tell you that what we did was enough. I wish I could now tell you that what we did has a chance to grow into something lasting. I wish.

The reality, however, appears to be different… and we have to face it.

The Taliban keeps making steady advances and conquering city after city.

We continue to assist the Afghan Army by providing aerial support from our bases in the region, but it is not enough.

What happened?

We accomplished our goal of tracking down Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attack on our nation. We accomplished our goal of putting a check on Al Qaeda. But we were not able to change the core of that country in a way that makes it unlikely Al Qaeda will mount another attack on us. So, as always, we must be on guard.

What I have to say now is not easy for me. In spite of all our efforts, we could not instill in the majority of the Afghan people the will to unite, to overcome their differences and present a solid front to fight and defend themselves against the Taliban.

Twenty years we spent there and we now are leaving. We have to. It pains us to do so because unless the Afghan army and the people push back and mount a strong defense, Afghanistan will fall to the Taliban and so many Afghans will find their dreams and aspirations ruthlessly trampled upon.

But why do we have to leave?

Because we have to rebuild our nation. Yes. Our nation.

We have to raise the level of productivity in our citizens. The level of education. We have to change the social conditions that foster so much dysfunction and animosity in our land.

How is it possible that, on January 6^th, a group of our fellow citizens felt entitled to plunder our Capitol in violation of our basic rules? What led us there?

We have to invest in better caring for each other so we stop those senseless acts, and the senseless killings in our cities and towns.

I know we can, if we put our hearts and minds to it. As we do, we will grow stronger and wiser.

The road ahead is long and arduous but the good news is that we are on our way.

As the world watches, our standing must be a reflection of how free we are to be the best we can be.

My administration is committed to laying down the foundation to achieve that goal.

And with the help of our fellow Republicans, it is well within our reach if we stay on task.

We can do it, I assure you. It is urgent that we do. United we rise, divided we fall.

The story of Afghanistan teaches us a great deal.

We have to constantly keep building bridges to each other. We cannot stop.

Build bridges from the urban to the rural. From the wealthy to the poor, from the well educated to the less educated, from people of one color to people of another. Build bridges from the Right to the Center and to the Left, for we are all Americans who need each other and have to trust each other to confront the challenges that life will continually bring us.

There is no time to rest. We must act.

It remains my fervent hope and prayer, that the Afghan people and their Army, will find in themselves the needed strength to resist and overcome the forces of repression and darkness that the Taliban represent. But it is up to them.

Meanwhile, we will continue to provide aerial and tactical support.

My fellow Americans, let us pull together… strive with all our might… and I assure you our nation will lead by the power of our example.

Good night.

Oscar Valdes. Oscarvaldes.net

The Child Tax Credit and Social Evolution

A few days ago, Biden signed into law a new version of the Child Tax credit. The intent is to bolster the income of poor families in America, in need of relief from the growing cost of raising their children.

From its inception, in 1997, the tax credit has been limited to families who have been employed and thus paid taxes.

Critics now counter that many of the new beneficiaries have neither worked nor paid taxes.

But according to the Treasury department, 97% of the families set to benefit do have wages or self employment income and the other 3% are grandparents or have health issues.

The expectations are that 35 million families will receive the benefit ($500 a month for child under 5, and $250 per child between 5 and 17) and so help lift them out of poverty.

Although presently scheduled to last one year, the hope is the revised law will be extended.

Here is a conversation between a supporter and an opponent of the new measure.

Wayne – It’s giveaway money. Biden looking for extra votes. Do these people really work?

Tricia – Biden says they do, many being self employed.

Wayne – Smells like giveaway.

Tricia – Wayne…. the majority are poor people. It takes money to provide for kids’ necessities, keep enough food on the table, send them to school.

Wayne – So why not call it Free Money for people who don’t practice contraception?

Tricia – Poverty is poverty, contraception or not.

Wayne – Think about it, pop a kid and get 5 hundred a month til they are 5, then 250 til they are 17. Have 5 kids, that’s 2500 a month. What a deal.

Tricia – Really? Let’s do the math. $2500 a month x 12 equals $30000 a year, to take care of 5 kids. I can tell you have no idea of what it takes to raise a kid.

Wayne – (not persuaded) Add to it the Supplemental Nutritional program, then apply for section 8 so you can get free housing and you don’t have to lift a finger. All courtesy of the US government. Oh, I forgot Medicaid for the healthcare part and throw in dental, vision and hearing. You can just sit home and raise kids. No wonder the national debt keeps rising. These people will never work, and they’ll teach their kids to not do so themselves.

Tricia – Okay… so we let them live in poverty? Or are you saying that what they’re getting is middle class fare? Because if you think that, then you’re deluded. Everything you’ve mentioned are measures to keep alive in the 21^st century. No more than that.

If they don’t get housing they get to camp out on the street. If they don’t get medical care, then they catch an infectious disease and they transmit it to others. Or they are crippled by it and it’s worse.

All the ‘goodies’ you’ve described, and which you object to giving, are bare essentials in modern living.

Are there people who are satisfied with just that? Yes, indeed. But the majority would like to do something with their lives, and it’s our responsibility to assist them.

Wayne – Our responsibility? Not at all. That’s where we disagree. It is their responsibility. Their responsibility to take risks and make the sustained efforts to move up the ladder.

Tricia – What ladder? If you don’t get a decent education, then you don’t get a chance to put a foot on the ladder. Never mind climbing it. Your argument, Wayne, is most unpsychological.

Where do you think people in those circumstances get to live? What schools do they get to attend? What educational enrichment assistance are they offered?

The answer is none.

Those are the kids who are likely to grow up in the midst of maladapted folks, people who teach the bad habits and ensure the cycle of poverty is perpetuated. Call it passing on social deformities. Abuse, drug dependence, gang affiliations. And so the gap widens.

The point of providing assistance is to break that pernicious sequence.

And it can happen if we invest. And invest consistently, year after year.

Wayne – Why have kids if you can’t support them?

Tricia – People who have been knocked down by life may have only their children to give them hope.

Wayne – That reasoning sounds like passing the buck. What these people should be asking is, ‘what’s wrong with me? What do I have to do to fix it?

Tricia – You and I have a decent income… we’ve had the fortune of having got an education… we take care of our necessities and have room to spare. The people who this tax credit is intended to help, have none of that. When they thought of conceiving a child, perhaps they had already done much soul searching and yet not found in themselves the strength to go on. A child is a source of joy, and for most of us, a new beginning.

Wayne – At our expense. You and I paying the taxes.

They pause.

Tricia – Let’s talk demographics for a minute.

Wayne – I know where you’re headed. Low fertility rates. But automation will take care of that.

Tricia – No it won’t. We need people. You’ll agree that, on average, the better educated women are, the fewer the children they’re likely to have, right?

Wayne – Sure.

Tricia – I’ve had only two children. I thought of a third but then decided against it because I wanted to spend my time doing other things than raising a child.

Wayne – Understood.

Tricia – And no matter how well I provide for my children, how stimulating an environment I give them, there is no guarantee that they will have the intellectual and emotional equipment to be trail blazers. No guarantee that they will open new horizons for humankind to move toward.

Wayne – You think great talent can come from anywhere?

Tricia – Oh, yes. And so it is our duty to safeguard those possibilities.

Wayne – I’ll have to think about that one.

Tricia – It is our duty to treat every single child, no matter what poverty they were born into, with all they need so they can develop whatever talents nature endowed them with.

Wayne – For the good of the future of society?

Tricia – Yes. But there’s still another reason to support the Child Tax credit. A selfish one.

Wayne – What’s that?

Tricia – It reinforces our humanity. It is us saying, ‘let us help children be all they can be… for they will not forget… and give back to us in return.’

Wayne – I just worry that we’re taken advantage of. I don’t like that.

Tricia – Neither do I. Some people will misuse the funds…

Wayne – Just like there are rich people who cheat on taxes.

Tricia – Exactly. But there will be far more who will be grateful… and so help raise better citizens…

Wayne – I hope you’re right.

I admit that sometimes we are too slow in responding to health crises. I had a cousin who died of an opioid overdose 10 years ago. We were still recovering from the housing crisis.

Tricia – Sorry about that. Were you close to him?

Wayne – Not really. We grew up together but then I moved and didn’t keep up with him. He had been working in a factory but it closed and he couldn’t find another job.

Tricia – Rough.

Wayne – The thing is… I thought he was a little lazy… not tough enough… but I missed the fact that he was in pain. I’m ashamed about that.

Tricia reaches over and rubs Wayne’s shoulder.

Wayne – I went to the funeral… talked to my aunt, his mother… she told me he really tried to get help… but there was very little around… the state had been too slow to respond.

Now I call my aunt every couple of months to see how she’s doing… if she needs anything.

Tricia – That’s nice of you.

Wayne – I wish I’d done it before. He never did reach out to me. Maybe his pride got in the way.

She’s raising his son. He’s 12 now.

Tricia – What about the child’s mother?

Wayne – She left after my cousin died. She hasn’t heard from her since. Couldn’t cope with it, said my aunt. The loss.

Tricia – Maybe one day she’ll find her way back.

Wayne – Hope so.

He turns to look a Tricia.

Wayne – I hadn’t talked about this in a while. Thanks.

Tricia – You’re welcome.

Wayne – It’s easy to miss the pain others are going through.

Tricia lowers her head. Wayne looks off.

Oscar Valdes oscarvaldes.net

Cuba and The Embargo

Recently, in response to the loss of life inflicted by the pandemic and a worsening of food shortages, protests erupted throughout the island calling for relief and in some instances for the end of the dictatorship.

The tone and intensity of the demonstrations was heated enough that it prompted Cuba’s new president – Miguel Diaz Canel – to call on the regime’s loyal citizens to pour into the streets and show their support for the government.

Diaz Canel himself, went to speak to the citizens directly. As he walked by a house in the town of San Antonio de Los Banos, where the protests had started, he stopped to talk to a woman who was sitting by her window.

He greeted her.

She recognized him and smiled in response.

Not far off, a group of antigovernment demonstrators could be heard as they marched under the vigilant eyes of the police.

‘What do you think of all of this?’ he asked the woman.

‘I knew it was going to happen, sooner or later,’ said she.

‘I understand,’ replied Diaz Canel, ‘but we have to be disciplined.’

The woman was careful to measure her words.

‘I understand… but it’s too much. Why haven’t we been able to get the vaccines?’

‘China has helped us out but they have only so much to go around. They’re helping people all over the world,’ said Diaz Canel.

‘I thought we were producing our own vaccines?’

‘We have been working on it but we don’t have enough resources. It takes the inputs from many specialized sectors in other countries, for everything to come together and produce the vaccine. But if we didn’t have the embargo, we would’ve been able to deal with it.’

The woman looked down at her windowsill.

This was her chance to speak up.

She had never had the opportunity to speak directly to the president of Cuba. She had briefly met both Fidel and Raul Castro a few times in her 62 years – Cuba was a small country – but never was in a verbal exchange with them. Now Fidel was dead and Raul had retired. Diaz Canel was the first president to follow the Castro brothers.

‘Why is it that we always blame the American embargo for everything we cannot solve?’ she finally asked.

There it was. She had said it.

Diaz Canel was surprised by the firmness of her voice.

‘We don’t have the chance to trade…’ he began but she cut him short.

‘We could trade with all of Latin America… with China and Vietnam and Europe and Africa and Canada… but if we don’t make enough things to trade, isn’t that our own fault? Why do we keep blaming the Americans? Why don’t we, instead, give people incentives to work? Give them incentives to create?’

Diaz Canel’s expression showed his irritation but he didn’t back off. ‘Look, we have one of the highest rates of literacy and one of the lowest rates of infant mortality… we send doctors all over the world to help other nations…’

The woman just stared at him, a faint smile in her eyes, as if saying… ‘So we do… and yet…?’

Diaz Canel paused and smiled at the irony. Yes, Cuba was sending doctors all over the world but the country was not dealing effectively with the pandemic. Nor with providing enough food for its citizens.

‘Something is wrong, isn’t it?’ she pressed. ‘Look, I understand that the revolution wanted to create a new man… but 62 years later it hasn’t delivered. We’re a creative people but we are blocked.’ She hesitated briefly before continuing for she knew she would say things that might come back to hurt her, but something impelled her to speak her mind forcefully.

‘The government is overcontrolling the people… we’re not made to be so restrained… no one is… people need space to come up with ideas and try them out. I’ve been a teacher for 39 years… we’re not equal… every one of my students is different… some are more intelligent than others… some have more courage than others… some are stronger than others… some are more imaginative… some are more ambitious… some more tenacious or hard working… and we need to let them interact freely with each other so they can find their place in the world. There is a role for government… yes… a role for a system that keeps the peace and helps resolve disputes and protects people from being taken advantage of… but in the end, Mr President…’ She wanted to reassure Diaz Canel that she understood clearly whom she was talking to and was grateful for the opportunity, ‘… in the end, Sir, we are not equal… like you and me are not equal… and that is okay. That doesn’t mean that we should not be kind to each other, on the contrary, that is the more reason to be so… but I really believe… from having seen so many children grow up before my eyes… that Cuba will be much better off… if the government backs off and lets people invent and trade and maximize their individual possibilities… whatever they may be. In the end, Mr Diaz, all of us have a better chance of capturing who we really are… if we are allowed to be unequal… for that is the only way that every person will come into their own powers.’

Diaz Canel nodded lightly. He looked off. The sounds of the demonstrators nearby were now fading somewhat. He had listened carefully to the woman and acknowledged that it had taken him a bit of effort to do so… but was thankful he had.

‘What is your name?’ he asked.

She thought of not telling him… but no, she could not do that to herself. She had been waiting a long time for this moment, and so had her mother before her who had blessed her with her name.

‘My name…’ she began, as she looked directly at Diaz Canel, ‘is Viva… my middle initial is L., for La, and my last name is Libertad. I was born on the 1^st of January 1959 in Havana, just as Fidel and his troops came roaring triumphantly into the city. My mother, in the early days of December and already in her ninth month of her pregnancy, had changed her last name to Libertad. She wanted her new child, whether boy or girl, to have Libertad branded into them.’

‘Viva La Libertad,’ said Diaz Canel. ‘Pretty name.’

‘Thank you,’ Viva said. ‘And thank you for listening.’

‘You are welcome,’ he replied.

And with a nod he bid her goodbye and walked off down the street, his entourage in tow.

She looked after him and wondered whether Diaz Canel would remember their conversation, and whether one day, in the near future, her beloved Cuba might change course and let her people have a go at finding their own strengths.

She was a realist, too… but she didn’t want to lose hope.

Oscar Valdes. Oscarvaldes.net