I'm curious what this community thinks about Fidel Castro, in strategic terms. I always find myself a little uncomfortable when Castro speaks out against the Iraq occupation, or U.S. influence in Latin America. Is the enemy of my enemy my friend? Personally for me, no fucking way. It's exactly that kind of mindset ("hey, if the conservatives hate him, he must be doing something right!") that enabled the power-hungry wack-job Leninists in Cuba (the PCC) to gain so much power in the first place. Cuban progressives and radicals saw the PCC leadership as speaking out against Machado and Batista; many voices on the left were wary of criticizing other critics, fearing it would hurt the cause.

     Another more graphic example is the mujahedeen in Afghanistan. The CIA funds, trains and foments violent religious reactionaries to set them loose on the Soviets, and then are surprised when all of a sudden the U.S. is the "great satan."

     However, the main point of this post is to see what you all think. I'll just leave with this: resist the urge to defend Castro just because conservatives are the ones most often criticizing him. If anything, liberals and progressives should be the more outspoken opponents of his broken regime.

(disclaimer 1: I know that I too am guilty of a lot of what I am railing against in the following paragraphs... but I'm working on it.)
(disclaimer 2: Most of this criticism is aimed at those activists who envision or promote an alternative societal/economic organization, though it might be useful for Mainline Liberals to read too.)

     I've been musing over the "lifestyle" activism that I've been seeing more and more of (and granted, have at times taken part in). And by lifestyle activism I don't mean simply wearing Amnesty pins or drinking fair trade coffee - it's when people are judged by how well their lifestyle conforms with external political/economic ends that it becomes a real problem. I know so many people who cringe or ridicule a fellow activist who happens to be wearing Nike footwear, or even watches American Idol (because it's owned by FOX). By striving for ideological purity and eliminating any potential "hypocrisy" from every aspect of our lives, I fear we activists have lost sight of what is truly important - building the movement(s). By paying attention to every single thing we purchase, every book/magazine we read, and every conversation we have, we have lost sight of larger goals, and better uses of our time.

     It's fantastic that you buy clothing and furniture from thrift shops. Good for you. But the fact that you do so does not a) make you a better activist, nor b) absolve you of greater responsibilities to the causes you are using your money to indicate solidarity with.

     Being an activist does not mean just buying fair trade coffee at Starbucks - or buying anything for that matter. I don't have much respect for the activist who wears hemp clothing, eats organic food and drives a hybrid but whose activism does not extend much further than her/his checkbook.   Read More »