Thousands of protesters have flooded Havana’s streets waving American flags and demanding liberty and democracy in Cuba. For 60 years, the Communist Party of Cuba has oppressed the Cuban people, greatly restricting their freedoms and human rights. As the freest and most democratic nation in the world, the United States must stand with the Cuban people against this communist regime. Yet how are we, as a nation, supposed to be seen as defenders of free markets, individual rights, and self-government when all these principles are under attack by the radical Left here in America?
Too often, the Left’s rhetoric calls for tighter government control over our economy. The Castro regime’s adoption of a Soviet-style government and its total control over industry and distribution has crippled the Cuban economy. Cuba’s economy shrunk nearly 11% in the last year, leading to food shortages and overpriced goods in government-run stores.
This is not an example of communism gone wrong, but rather a design of the system. Outlawing competitive markets and seizing control of industry are central tenets of both communism and its cousin, socialism. This broken system has resulted in a string of famines, killing 70 million people worldwide in the 20th century alone.
With so many examples of communism destroying economies and leading to human rights violations, it’s astonishing that the Left today is advocating for some of the same policies. For example, the Left’s proposed “Green New Deal” would take control over several industries, including energy, transportation, and agriculture. The Left is also pushing for universal healthcare, controlled and regulated by the federal government. This would remove free-market competition from healthcare completely, driving up prices and taking away patient choice.
For years, the Cuban regime has censored free speech and the press. The country’s only news is reported through government-controlled media. Socialist and communist countries are also known for abusing their people’s individual rights. Constitutionally protected freedoms are never a guarantee in communist countries; this includes the freedom of speech, religious exercise, or the freedom to assemble. In Cuba, for example, public gatherings must be preapproved by the Cuban regime. That’s why within hours of last Sunday’s protest, Cuban police arrested over 100 protesters.
Some on the Left in the U.S. are taking their cues from Cuba’s communist dictatorship. In recent months, the Left has used the monopoly power of Big Tech to censor free speech. Companies such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have shadow-banned, demonetized, or deplatformed numerous conservative voices. For example, Apple and Google colluded to remove Parler from their application stores, rendering the app inaccessible.
One of the most concerning parallels between the Cuban communist regime and the Left in the U.S. is the push for ever more government control. Since 1959, the people of Cuba have been trapped by the iron grip of the Castro regime and now its hand-picked successor, Miguel Diaz-Canel. The Cuban people have never experienced the kind of self-government and freedom that many in America take for granted. Yet today, the Left continuously pushes for government control over every area of our lives. Almost every bill proposed by the Democrats advocates for more regulation by the federal government and less self-government by the people.
The Cuban people are demanding democracy and liberty, looking to the U.S. for help and guidance. While citizens of other nations recognize that the U.S. is a bastion of freedom, there are many on the Left that would rather burn the flag than wave it. These leftists want to bring this socialist form of government to America, the same system that the people of Cuba are trying to escape.
Mark Green represents Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.
