The US has a long history of backing murderous regimes, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, Ubico, Trujillo, Duvalier, Pinochet, Somoza (father and sons)....
There are many Americans that don't mind human rights violating and murderous regimes as long as it's 'our bastard' doing it. The cries against someone like Castro ring hollow when these same people remain silent on all the others.
I think this response is rather simplistic and leaves out a lot of real world facts.
Well, yes it is simplistic response, its also a simplistic thread and i find it interesting that you're singling mine out. But i enjoy engaging, so...
In addition to simplifying my thoughts, i kept my post short intentionally, brevity generally being best on message boards. I didnt really see the need to go into dissertation mode, on subject matter that i knew getthesenets was likely aware of. And i didnt think (based on what I've generally read here) that most other posters would really enjoy a conversation debating whether those that seek to justify our third world policies supporting dictators in the name of strategic interests have it right, or if its those that favor benign detachment that are correct.
But overall i enjoyed reading your post. It was literate and thought out, it's a nice change from some of the others in the thread.
BTW, Helen, when I used the word simplistic I didn't mean it as an insult and I probably should have chosen another word, it's just that I've read a number of posts on a different forum where the writers more often than not emote based on superficial knowledge. Sometimes I spend more time in that forum than I should LOL.
I used to get into these idealism vs realism debates with a friend of mine who's a poly sci professor, but he got set in his ways and isn't much of a debater anymore. So I appreciate that we can have our disagreements without taking it personally, and there's been a number of times where you've brought things to my attention that help correct or sharpen my own knowledge.
No worries. I wasnt insulted at all. Like I said, I do enjoy engaging and good conversations and i hope to have more.
All God's children are not beautiful. Most of God's children are, in fact, barely presentable.
I never met anyone who didn't have a very smart child. What happens to these children, you wonder, when they reach adulthood?
