Remembering 1959

1959 was a very busy year in my broadcast career, working on an application for a radio station license. As a result, I was frequently out of touch with the news.

The part I am now remembering, is the part about Cuba. For some years (over two separated terms) Cuba was run by Fulgencio Batista. Batista was reputed to be a bad guy - I was never in Cuba, so I can only go by what others said. The U.S. backed Batista and he kept the island wide open to the pleasure business - gambling, partying, prostitution. Reportedly with connections to U.S. mafia crime families.

But, then came "The Cuban Revolution", somewhat headed by a one-time Cuban political activist named Fidel Castro, his younger brother Raul, and the mass murderer Che Guevera. Castro had been kicked out of Cuba, but returned from exile to take on the Batista forces. This was supposedly a people's revolution, an uprising for freedom and democracy. Castro found help in the U.S., but maybe only from Cuban exiles. Eisenhower was the U.S. President and Ike was not one to jump into a fray with his eyes closed.

After The Revolution became successful, freedom loving democrat Fidel announced that he was really a Marxist. Boy, did we feel snookered! We had cheered for someone we knew nothing about.

So, you will forgive this old man if, today, as we again support "rebel" forces we do not know (this time in the Middle East), I wonder if we're about to be snookered again.

That last mistake caused us grief that has stretched 52 years, and still counting! Off the top of my head, I'd say we are slow learners.