I never thought I'd say this, but I actually got some positive impressions about Fidel out of this. He's deluded, but apparently sincere. That's a lot more than I can say about a lot of American politicians. Bill Clinton, for instance.
Fidel now strikes me more as an Arlen Specter kinda guy. An idiot with way too much faith in himself. Fortunately Arlen ain't ever going to run a country. Fidel's being a fool has cost lots of people their lives.
Raul appears much more in the mold of most Communist dictators as I envision them.
""I never thought I'd say this, but I actually got some positive impressions about Fidel out of this.""
That's exactly the point of this fluff piece in the Miami Herald. You'll see a lot more of it in the media. He'll be lionized as a real nice guy. I'm sure plenty of "heart warming" anecdotes remain to be heard.
Nary a story about those murdered or tortured will appear.
I think Fidel made a sincere effort to make Communism work. He killed many of his political opponents, but didn't participate in the mass murders of his fellow Communists. Compared to other Communists, he was almost benign.
I consider his regime to be a useful object lesson and demonstration that Communism, even if attempted in good faith, just cannot work well.
He was a true believer in a system even its orignators didn't believe in anymore.
At the same time, the price people paid for the experiment was catastrophic. So even though I think he tried very hard to make the unworkable work, this doesn't make him a truly good person.
A good person would have changed course and freed his people.
D