One of the charges most often made against the George Bush Administration was that they were 'arrogant'. To me, one of the definitions of arrogance is ignoring the advice of the people who may actually understand any given situation. That is what I believe is happening with the Obama Administration's changes being made to our relationship with Cuba.
The Hill posted an article this afternoon about the changes President Obama is making in terms of travel to Cuba and money and goods that can be sent to Cuba. The largest Cuban-American population in this country is located in Florida. Two Congressmen from this area, Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), have both come out strongly against the changes being made. The two Representatives have released a statement that "Unilateral concessions to the dictatorship embolden it to further isolate, imprison and brutalize pro-democracy activists, to continue to dictate which Cubans and Cuban-Americans are able to enter the island, and this unilateral concession provides the dictatorship with critical financial support," Lincoln Diaz-Balart was born in Cuba and fled the country with his family after Fidel Castro's revolution.
I have no opinion as to what is right in this situation. It might be wise, however, to listen to the people with the closest ties to Cuba and what is happening there.
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