Reach out to Americans

Reach Out to Americans

By Jaums Sutton

I write this as a born-in-the-US American who has a familiarity with the situation with Cuba because I have been lucky enough to have many Cuban Americans as friends for many years. All of what I have to say is in my humble opinion; my reaction to what I see in the media compared to my beliefs, developed mostly through my friendships. I mean to be constructive and supportive.

An article in yesterday’s Washington Post, Elian Impasse Widens Miami's Ethnic Divides, by April Witt; Page A1, (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21990-2000Apr15.html) talks about the fact that many Cuban Americans do not understand why so many Americans are not on their side. I share this concern and, again I say humbly, offer my notions, hopefully in a productive manner.

In the US, a democracy, power is ultimately in the hands of the people. The degree to which that is true certainly is debatable and varies from topic to topic. But, overall it is the people. If Cuban Americans want the US behind them, they must reach out to the Americans. If the American people are behind them, then the politicians (OK, at least most of them) will have no choice but to be behind them. The media (OK, at least most of the media) will have no choice either. And so on.

But how do you get the American people behind you? Reach out to them at every opportunity. Perhaps the most pervasive way is through TV. When I see protesters on TV in Miami or in Bethesda, where Juan Miguel is being held, I see a lot of posters in Spanish. I see a lot of Cuban flags. As an American, I do not see someone who is reaching out to me. I see Cubans who want to reach other Cubans. I applaud Cuban’s and Cuban American’s pride in their heritage, but if the goal is to get the US behind you on the issue of Elian, for example, then you need to reach out to Americans, not to Juan Miguel, not to the family in Miami nor to each other.

Juan Miguel can’t see the sign from so far away and through the trees and closed blinds, anyway. And on TV you can be sure he won’t see it either, because his handlers are not letting him watch live TV, but tapes of the things they want him to see. The family in Miami already agrees with you, so they don’t need to see the signs. And, as for each other, you already know the story.

Seeing signs in Spanish and Cuban flags makes me, an American, wonder if the Cubans in Miami want to pretend they are in Cuba. They don’t look like people who are proud to be Americans. I realize that this is an egotistical way to be, but Americans are proud of our country and well, that’s just the way it is. As an American, why should I want to support someone who doesn’t appear to be in support of the US? I realize that they may very well be in support of the US, but that is not the impression. Unfortunately, with TV sound bites and visual bites, impression is usually all you get.

The right to protest is a wonderful part of being free, but don’t forget to whom you are protesting. I realize that Castro is the real enemy, but what possible effect can protesting against him have? It can be an irritant for him, no small joy, but what change for the good can come of that? Protesting him will just make him work even harder to preserve his power. Directing your passion to the American people can have a beneficial effect, because it can change the result of the polls on "Should Elián be sent back to Cuba?" If the American people say he should stay, the politicians would have no choice to find a way. Instead, after the polls were in favor of him being sent back, the ones on Capitol Hill working to find a way for him to stay, immediately backed off and have disappeared.

Historically, we have welcomed immigrants here and I think we should continue to do so. But once here and taking advantage of the opportunities here, I think it becomes the duty of the immigrant to support the US and I think it is the duty of those already here to support the immigrants. But, if the immigrants are proudly waving a "foreign" flag and holding up signs in a "foreign" language, I don’t feel they are asking for my concern or my support. The impression given off is that they seem to be ignoring the fact that they are in the US. I know that is not the case with Cuban Americans, but the constant unfavorable comments of the biased media encourage that impression.

Reach out to the ones who can help you. Make us feel that we are all in this together. Americans like to help other Americans, no mater where they were born.

END

Jaums Sutton

April 17, 2000
ABIP@netkonnect.net
2000 JWS

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