To Be, or Not to Be Free

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 426 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon.  To Be, or Not to Be Free (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

In memory of Oswaldo Payá We take it for granted that all peoples aspire to be free, but the idea of individual freedoms is not universally accepted.  Believers of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes across the world hold that a dictatorial approach to governing is moral, just, and necessary. Some offer that a developing nation needs a strong-man rule to effectively promote economic growth without the aggravations of democracy. Others feel authoritarian rule is necessary to assure law and order. Others embrace monarchies, realms, or other hereditary forms of governments to protect the traditions and customs of their people. Others believe that their church and government are one and the same and that their religious beliefs are above a selfish desire for freedom. Marxists sacrifice individual freedoms in the altar of collectivism.  If that is their well-informed choice, these true believers in single-party permanent rule, should be free to be unfree -preferably in another planet. But, this begs the question of how should a society decide on its form of government. The dictatorial answer is to hold on to power indefinitely as we see in totalitarian states like North Korea and Cuba. The democratic answer, of course, is by free, fair, competitive, multiparty, and frequent elections.  This is why I find the Cuba Decide Plebiscite project, spearheaded by Rosa Maria Payá Acevedo such a refreshing proposition after nearly six decades of Castro rule in Cuba. Rosa Maria is the youthful, highly articulate, daughter of slain Cuban democracy activist Oswaldo Payá, recipient of the European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov Prize and five-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. Rosa Maria, as president of the Latin American Youth Network for Democracy, is continuing her father’s work to foster democracy in that tragic Island.  The Cuba Decide Plebiscite initiative proposes to answer by a direct “Yes” or “No” vote of the Cuban people one basic, but transcendental question:  Do you agree with the convening of free, fair, and pluralistic elections, by exercising freedom of speech; and organizing freely in political parties and social organizations with full plurality?  It would be naive to expect that the Castro regime would agree to hold such a binding plebiscite. Yet, at a minimum, promoting the plebiscite provides a strategic tool to encourage a highly focused political debate and public dialogue both in Cuba and in international forums. It puts the spotlight on the fact that it is the people’s prerogative, and no one else’s, to decide their form of government. Few would disagree with the plebiscites’ central postulate that Cubans must be free to decide their future. Even supporters of the Castro regime would find it ideologically difficult to object to presenting this simple question to the Cuban people. The only intellectually honest way to protest such a people empowering plebiscite is to argue that people should not have a say in their future and to argue that dictatorships are the preferable form of government. Not many international leaders are willing to publicly state that preference.  The Cuba Decide Plebiscite is not a political platform, but rather a tool to initiate change if the Cuban people decide that change is warranted by a “Yes” vote that offers the possibility of alternatives. A “No” vote would legitimize single-party permanent rule. In some ways, the plebiscite idea offers a Cuban leadership of Castro’s successors an elegant and accepted way to change course or, alternatively, to seek to legitimize their single-party rule. As events unfold in post-Castro Cuba, the youth-led Cuba Decide Plebiscite initiative may become a key component of a legitimate transition.  Freedom has consequences, not all of them useful, but it is immoral and unjust to deprive people of their freedom as dictators do. Our rational judgment is our basic means of living. If we cannot act in accordance with our free judgment, we cannot live fully as human beings. And we need freedom to act on our judgments. After decades of freedom-less lives under totalitarian rule, the Cuba Decide Plebiscite is a citizen-led initiative fundamentally asking the Cuban people a rational judgment question: Do you want to be free? “Yes” or “No.” Who can possibly object to such a question? The answer should enlighten us all.  Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon.  Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

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