Stardate 20020626.2037

(On Screen): Castro is threatening to sever all diplomatic ties with the US. Even under the best of circumstances this would be a feeble threat, but in the aftermath of the September attack, it's ludicrous. Does he think anyone in Washington even has time now to think about Cuba and Castro? And why does he seem to think that the US particularly values such few diplomatic ties as it does have with Cuba?

Evidently what he's upset about is that American diplomats have been handing out free short wave radios to Cubans, which are capable of picking up radio broadcasts from elsewhere in the world, and delivering information that the Cuban government can't control. Using them, Cubans can listen to multiple points of view about the news of the world and to make their own decisions about what they think is happening. Castro doesn't like this.

One of the problems with being a dictator and surrounding yourself with sycophants is that you come to realize that you can't really trust any of them. If everyone tells you what you want to hear, then you can no longer be certain whether any of them are actually telling the truth. Some might be loyal, but how can you pick those out from all the toadies and flatterers? And by the same token, if you spend 40 years suppressing dissent amongst your loyal subjects, and if all you ever get is immense acclaim when you make a speech, you come to realize that you can't be certain if any of them actually really support you. Are they cheering because they love you, or because they fear the secret police?

Castro feels the cold touch of death on his shoulder, and fears for his legacy. He fears that five minutes after his death, everything he's built will be torn down and replaced by something looking suspiciously like what's just across the water to the North. 99% of Cubans say that they agree with him that Socialism must an untouchable and irrevocable part of Cuban society forever and ever; but Castro knows better than anyone how meaningless this truly is.

And so he seeks signs of dissent, signs of rebellion, signs that the people are in private not as loyal and enthusiastic about him as they seem to be in public when he makes speeches, signs that they don't actually believe in Socialism the way he does. And he sees them being given uncontrolled radios which can provide them with a flow of information he cannot control. And it makes him nervous.

Which proves how insecure he truly is. If he were truly confident, he would be glad for his people to see opposing opinions because he would be certain they would not be swayed by them. The sure sign of an insecure dictator is censorship; the sure sign of legitimacy of a ruler is freedom of dissent amongst the people.

If Castro truly believed that the Cuban people support his Socialist revolution, he would invite the US to distribute thousands of uncontrolled radios on the street corners of Havana.