I read yesterday that Michael Moore has been given 20 working days by the U.S. Treasury Department, of all things, to ‘explain himself’ for a recent trip to Cuba. It seems Moore was down there to investigate their health care system in conjunction with his upcoming documentary Sicko, purportedly about the inequities of the current American health care system. It seems that going to Cuba without Uncle Sam’s official or at least tacit okey-dokey is a violation of the Hyper Super-Duper God Bless America Act or something.
Ironies abound here.
Think about it… these days, if Moore cannot or will not explain himself to his government’s satisfaction, he might just wind up being sent to Guantanamo in Cuba… for going to Cuba.
Also, it seems to me that if only he hailed from, say, Sarnia, Ontario, instead of Flint, Michigan, he wouldn’t have to ‘explain himself’ to his government for having visited any foreign country he chose, Cuba or otherwise, to make a movie about his country’s health care system leaving millions of people uninsured. But then, if he were from Sarnia, he wouldn’t have to make such a movie in the first place…
Finally, there’s the odd emphasis on freedom in the US… missing the forest for the trees. I can remember being condescended to by Americans who were ‘shocked’ by anti-hate speech legislation here in Canada and elsewhere. No such thing could exist in the US, I was told, where freedom of speech is absolute. Yes, Americans are free to shout from the rooftops that the Holocaust never happened but that if it had, Hitler had a great idea — though not one in ten thousand of them would exercise such a ‘right’. But travel 90 miles to a country whose government your own doesn’t like in order to make a point that could potentially help tens of millions of your fellow citizens live longer, better lives? Oh, no. No, we can’t have people doing that, uh uh. It makes you wonder if these folks understand the difference between the product and the packaging.
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I agree with the stupidity of my government's actions, and far be it from me to EVER defend the current regime here, BUT, the anti-Cuba policies go back 40 years, to the Kennedy era when they were instituted. The theory being we'll boycott Castro and that'll get him outta power...even though he's been in power through 9 presidents now. Yeah, that policy is working REAL well.
No politician will touch the issue, though, because there is a HUGE ex-Cuban constituency in Southern Florida, and to attempt to get rid of the embargo would ensure that politican, and probably anyone connected to his party, would become an persona non grata in Florida...and with 25 presidential electoral votes, no one's gonna risk that.
So the stupid outdated policy remains.
If you already knew this stuff, then just ignore it. But I wanted to give a little background on the situation.
Oh, and I think the major point is that Moore took 9/11 rescue workers who were in ill health and couldn't get care here with him, and paid for thier care in Cuba. Buying ANYTHING from Cuba, including health care, is a violation of those outdated policies I mentioned about. Go figure.
HUGS...
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