Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Thu, Mar 03 2005
Forbidden Fruit
When human instincts for creativity and friendship are involved, it's pretty hard for a cold war or decades-old sanctions or any other political machine to stop progress. Food producers and distributors, including a growing number of them in California, are leading the pack to trade with Cuba. Val Prieto has his Babalu blog, in which he recounts memories and tries to give understanding to himself and to those of us who read his words. Artist Ana Mendieta was passed between both countries and found a way to express her loneliness through her art. She passed away some time ago, but her art still reaches out to us.
Even as politicians in Cuba and the U.S. attempt to restrict monetary and social interaction between the two nations there is strong interest on the part of Cubans and Americans to share the many things that make us more alike than different and to explore and learn from the details that are different. This is a drive that neither country's political forces can hold back forever. It's even possible that the sense of taboo the two countries' leaders have attempted to create may actually be upping our curiosity and adding fuel to our desire to be closer to our neighbors. It all makes me think of two sets of panicked parents who don't like each other's family and form a dirty alliance to try to stomp out the budding romance between their teenage offspring.
posted at: 09:19 | category: /Politics | link to this entry
When human instincts for creativity and friendship are involved, it's pretty hard for a cold war or decades-old sanctions or any other political machine to stop progress. Food producers and distributors, including a growing number of them in California, are leading the pack to trade with Cuba. Val Prieto has his Babalu blog, in which he recounts memories and tries to give understanding to himself and to those of us who read his words. Artist Ana Mendieta was passed between both countries and found a way to express her loneliness through her art. She passed away some time ago, but her art still reaches out to us.
Even as politicians in Cuba and the U.S. attempt to restrict monetary and social interaction between the two nations there is strong interest on the part of Cubans and Americans to share the many things that make us more alike than different and to explore and learn from the details that are different. This is a drive that neither country's political forces can hold back forever. It's even possible that the sense of taboo the two countries' leaders have attempted to create may actually be upping our curiosity and adding fuel to our desire to be closer to our neighbors. It all makes me think of two sets of panicked parents who don't like each other's family and form a dirty alliance to try to stomp out the budding romance between their teenage offspring.
posted at: 09:19 | category: /Politics | link to this entry