An Analysis of “History Will Absolve Fidel” by John Maxwell, Article Review Example

In this article, first published in 2005 in The Black Commentator, a journal devoted to analyzing and investigating social issues that affect African-Americans, commentator John Maxwell points out that Americans have always been paranoid of outsiders and so-called agitators. Maxwell admits that, due to having some problems at U.S. airports concerning his visa and passport, he would be “a fool not to know that I am, in some circles, considered if not an enemy of the United States, at least unqualified to be embedded with the Marines.” ¹ Obviously, Maxwell, a journalist from Jamaica and a professor at the University of the West Indies, does not wholly agree with some of the current political and security-related tactics of the U.S. federal government, and as Maxwell progresses through his article, this position can also be applied to his thoughts on past actions of the U.S. government related to imperialism and Castro’s Cuba.

Maxwell also relates that one of the unfortunate consequences of American paranoia is defamation or “demonizing” the name and reputation of especially foreign political leaders like Aristide, the former President of Haiti, Fidel Castro, the longtime self-imposed “dictator” of Cuba, and the late Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. In contrast, Maxwell notes that the U.S. government “says very little about terrorists like Posada Carriles and his protector and co-conspirator Santiago Alvarez.” Even when Alvarez was arrested in Miami in December of 2005, the U.S. government looked the other way, due to fears that “hardline exile activists” from Cuba would protest against the Bush White House. Ironically, Alvarez is close friends with Jeb Bush, the President’s brother. Thus,as editorialized in the Miami Herald, the “Cuban community in Miami is incensed, saying that President Bush is catering to Castro” by arresting Alvarez whom many Cubans feel is a freedom fighter, rather than a terrorist. ²

In many ways, Maxwell is responding to the age-old debate or disagreement over United States imperialism which dates back to the 1800’s via the Monroe Doctrine and the Louisiana Purchase and its political leaders whom many consider as hypocrites, such as when the U.S. government and President George W. Bush ignored the arrest of Alvarez in Miami while “demonizing” so-called Third World leaders like Aristide and Castro. Maxwell then relates that while at the airport, he thought back on Fidel Castro’s 1953 speech called “History Will Absolve Me” which was written as a defensive reply to the infamous Moncada uprising of the same year.

Obviously, Maxwell is a supporter of Fidel Castro and his revolution, due to noting that in Cuba, “illiteracy and AIDS are almost non-existent, there is a doctor for every 100 Cubans, the infant mortality rate is the lowest in the world,” and more than three-quarters of the population attend some kind of higher educational institution. Maxwell provides numerous other facts and figures that tend to back up his argument that Cuba as of 2005 was better off than its closest neighbors like Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Lastly, Maxwell reminds his readers that the United States “has been engaged in what it regards as a war against Cuba” since 1959. ³ Thus, as Maxwell sees it, this so-called war against Cuba is one reason for Bush’s Patriot Act which was intended to protect the citizens of the U.S. against terrorist threats and incidents, such as the World Trade Center bombing in 2001.

Since this article is a piece of commentary, it does not utilize any outside sources. Therefore, Maxwell must feel that he is more than qualified to discuss Castro’s speech, American imperialism, and America’s war against Castro without any backup sources. Nonetheless, Maxwell provides some very strong arguments in favor of Castro’s regime in Cuba and against American imperialism. For instance, Maxwell declares that the U.S. is “illegally squatting on Cuban soil” in relation to the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay, and that Cuba “continues to be the victim of a wide range of illegal actions designed to bring down the government.” ⁴ One must remember that Maxwell wrote this article during the last days of the George Bush Presidency and that since 2005, a number of events have occurred in Cuba, such as Castro’s declining health, that have drawn the island nation closer to a democratic state. As of 2013, it is difficult to say what exactly will happen in Cuba once Castro dies, allegedly leaving his regime in the hands of his brother.

In class, we discussed Castro’s 1953 speech as his take on a “real revolution,” being the overthrow of the Batista dictatorship which “sold Cuba’s self-respect to the highest bidder,” such as the American Mafia. We also discussed how Castro’s speech was Marxist-inspired via Castro’s pledge to “give sovereignty back to the people” and create a government that is “vested with the power to enforce the people’s will and true justice.” ⁵

Certainly, as mentioned in class, Castro has long been an outspoken critic and detractor of economic imperialism, in this case, the economic stranglehold that the United States still maintains over the government and people of Cuba. Also, Castro has long called for the liberation of Cuba from the influence of the U.S. and despite what the American government says about communism, Castro remains steadfast and immovable.

As a professor of history, Maxwell is more than qualified to address the numerous topics in this article which he does with scholarship and a good grasp of the English language despite being a native of Jamaica. Also, his analysis of the subject matter is logically arranged but reads much like a piece of journalism that one might find in a city newspaper. In fact, this article was originally published in the Jamaica Observer, one of the most prestigious newspapers in the Caribbean. Not surprisingly, Maxwell’s’ non-conformist attitude and his outspoken stance against American imperialism served him quite well in 1999 when he “single-handedly thwarted the Jamaican government’s efforts to build houses at Hope, the nation’s oldest and best known botanical gardens,” ⁶ an action that won him the 2000 Environmental Journalism Competition award.

Bibliography

Maxwell, John. “History Will Absolve Fidel.” The Black Commentator. 163 (December 15, 2005): 1-5.

¹ “History Will Absolve Fidel.” The Black Commentator 163 (December 15, 2005): 1.

² Ibid, 2.

³ Ibid, 3-4.

⁴ Ibid, 4.

⁵ Ibid, 5.

⁶ Ibid, 5.