Just for a moment I wish to step out of the newsman shoes, where I have to be neutral in my presentation of the news; something I try hard to do but sometime fail. I have been listening to the debate over normalizing relations with Cuba for years, and now that a President has finally had the courage to say-"Enough" I must say it is about time. As a young Sailor I was aboard the USS Hawkins DDR873 in the 50s, and had the pleasure of being on one of the last American Naval Ships to visit Santiago Cuba before the country was closed to the US. At the time I agreed with the actions of the President of that time, John F. Kennedy, but I do not believe Kennedy ever envisioned the punishment of that Island Nation dragging on for this long. I can remember from time to time through the years different political leaders who wanted it ended, but could get no support. The biggest problem wit isolating Cuba is the wrong people are being punished. Castro never had to worry about his next meal, but the children, and the poor of Cuba sure did. The leaders of Cuba have different ideas than we do, but that doesn't mean we can't get along with them. Some politicians say keep them isolated until they come around to our way of thinking, but if the people of Cuba can't even hear our ideas how can they be expected to rebut the ones force fed them by a corrupt regime. As it has always been disagreements come from the leaders of the different countries not the people who make up the population of those countries. I have spoken to Sailors from many different countries through the years, and I realized one thing as we sipped our beer, and tried to decipher each others language; we were a lot closer in understanding each other than our leaders were understanding each other. We just wanted to live in peace.

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