The American "Big Stick", Dubya and other thoughts

[Colobo]

You know, as a Puerto Rican (meaning both Latin American and American), every time I think of how many 20th century American presidents played chess with Latin America, supporting the killing of hundreds of thousands, toppling democratic governments, controlling the economies of quite a few nations in order to "help stabilize them", siding with ruthless American investors that stole much of the natural resources of the region and enslaved the locals? Why are they called great by most Americans? Why are they so revered by so many, when their records are stained with the blood, sweat and tears of many Latin Americans?

Our strongmen: Trujillo, Castillo Armas, Rios Montt, Machado, Batista, Somoza, Videla, Galtieri, Pinochet, Banzer, Stroessner, Balaguer, and many other "democratically" and "non-democratically" put in power. Our creation. The creation of our beloved 20th century presidents...

And, now, we have GWB: an enabler, a criminal, an incompetent, you name it. One of the most violent, corrupt and bloody administrations this country has ever had, but is he really that different to the others that came before him? Isn't he just a product of the standards that other administrations have set in the past? Isn't he doing, in a probably bigger scale and in the Middle East, what others before him did with the blessing of Americans in our own backyard?

Don't you guys think that the cancer that has held the WH hostage since Jan. 2001 has been there since McKinley or probably way before, because Americans have given their presidents a free pass whenever they got involved in shady stuff in other parts of the world?

If anything, I got to give it to Jimmy Carter. Maybe he was not the most effective president, but he knew that America was in need to a real change from the inside out. A change that began in how every American pereceived himself and, eventually, ended in how the leaders of this great nation saw themselves in respect to the world they lived in.

So, let's actually do it. Let's look over our history and identify the roots of our current problems. Let's not give the criminals of the past a free pass. Let's recognize the flaws of those who led us before as well as their positive achievements, and let's demand from our current candidates politics of cooperation with other nations. Politics of respect, politics of dialogue, politics of fairness and hope. Let's demand from our current candidates true leadership; leadership that doesn't give up to the pressures of personal ambitions or the ambitions of special interests who are willing to see millions die in order to make millions of dollars.

Let's get rid of the Big Sticks. Let's offer the world a firm, friendly handshake.

[Colobo]

1. Kick!

[Colobo]

2. Double kick!