Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek

By now we are immersed in reading multiple books written by Fidel Castro, Che Guevarra, and Jose Marti, the three leading protagonists in the history of the Cuban revolution. We cannot put these books down.

The image that is portrayed of Castro in the U.S. is so incredibly out of synch with our observations and our many, in depth conversations with a wide array of Cubans — from a farmer to a police officer, a guard at a resort and the head of a CDR (Comite para la Defensa de la Revolucion), a grandmother owner of a bed and breakfast and cab drivers, whites and blacks, young and old, to just name a few — it is enlightening not only about Cuba, but also about the United States.

The simplest way of expressing this to a U.S. audience who no doubt will have a knee jerk reaction based on the portrayal that we have all been exposed to for years is this: the Africa National Congress and by inference Nelson Mandela were deemed and described for years as “terrorists” by the U.S. Eventually, the U.S. reversed course and we all know how the narrative evolved into Mandela being recognized as a hero of national non violent revolution and in fact Nobel prize winner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSx4v3EcCfI

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Mandela, as “revolutionary leader” was an ally and observer of the Cuban revolutionary bedrock concepts. Likewise we observe that this small island has managed to develop, despite a decades old US blockade, a quality of life that has many attractive attributes that still remain elusive goals of the richest and most powerful country in the world, the United States – an unmatched level of education (98% literacy, the highest in the world), a healthcare system that offers free medical services to 100% of the population (and dispatches world class doctors to developing countries and those affected by natural disasters, such as Haiti) and a super low level of crime (as explained in details by the chief of police we met in a neighborhood) and low poverty.

The most interesting observation from the chief of police: not ONE single time over the past year, not ONCE, did any of his police officers have to draw their gun, let alone use it, over 2011, in the densest district in Cuba – the downtown Havana metropolitan area, equivalent in size to Houston, Texas.

The following is a USA Today article published when Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice met with South African President, Nelson Mandela. Embarrassingly, Mandela was STILL on the U.S. list of active terrorists, requiring special visa and processing to come to the U.S. The point of all this, is not just that the State Dept lists were outdated, it is merely that America’s collective perception of foreign leaders is fickle at best and maddeningly colored by labels and absolute judgement in a black and white scale that is devoid of grey. Mandela yesterday was labelled a terrorist, today is of course revered as a hero, role model and elder statesman. But Mandela did not change, America’s perception did. Will the same be said of Cuba’s Castro?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-04-30-watchlist_N.htm

One final set of thought provoking statistics from 2009. See below the result of international comparison of something called the happiness index. When the King of Bhutan a few years ago introduced the concept of a Gross National Happiness factor, to rival the consumption-focused more traditional measuring of Gross National Product (GNP), it was dismissed as a quaint concept from a far corner of Asia. Then, within a few years, international organizations such as the UN and even the World Bank started to take note that, after all, measuring happiness is not such a ridiculous concept at all.

Notice the happiness statistics of Cuba (#7) versus France (#74) versus the U.S. (#114)? How can that be? don’t Americans have MORE STUFF? indeed they do, but perhaps, oh just perhaps. consumerism does not equate to happiness?

Is it because “Cubans don’t know better, so they THINK they are happy?” (this is a direct quote from a conversation I just had with a European family friend). Hmmm… then what about the other 113 or so countries that rate higher than the U.S.? are they also just “ignorantly happy?”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Planet_Index

Many people we talked with were quick to point out that there are some remnants of the system that are just plain stupid, such as the inability to travel abroad at will, or to have more fluid and cheaper internet access.

But the developments of the past 7 months, following Raul Castro’s access to the Presidency, are being experienced as extremely positive indications that the system is indeed being updated. Most important among these are the right to own a house or car and trade these at will. Individuals can start their own businesses and develop assets as a result.

We take 4 or 5 of our current favorite books we are reading in parallel to a Cubano Jazz club to ring in the new year. The music here and everywhere has been superlative. In fact, not since Kansas City and New Orleans have we experienced so much live music, free, everywhere.

When we get back to the neighborhood where we are staying, which looks initially like a very run down version of Paris, we notice that all the streets are wet, but it’s not raining. The New Year tradition in Havana is to throw buckets of water from the second, third and fourth stories onto the street, and hopefully drench a car or inattentive pedestrians. This is about “throwing out the old” before welcoming the new.

We end the night circa 2:30 am, intellectually awakened by our trip. As we lie on our bed reminiscing about the highlights of our trip, we fall asleep to the sounds of African drums. The Cuban black population retains strong elements of its not so distant African heritage. Peta feels at home.