Lillian's Page

We Cubans are prisoners of ourselves. We are a people who love freedom, but don't know how to keep it.

We are prisoners of ourselves. We have a curse, the Latin people. Look at Spain, Portugal, South and Central America: dictators, dictators. We are a people who love freedom, but don't know how to keep it.

You talk to a lot of Latins here. They have solutions, sure. They don't understand America. They hear about riots in cities, they say "kill them". They hear about white supremacists, they know what to do: "kill them". They don't realize that if the police chief can kill people at will, he becomes the next dictator.

The only thing that can stop the dictator is the law. The dictator must break the law. You (North Americans) take the man who breaks the law and you try him, and if he is found guilty, you put him in jail. Big or small it makes no difference.

The Latins say The United States is no different. The politicians are crooks, the police, etc. I say yes, but there is a difference: if he is caught, he goes to jail. With us, if you are friends of the minister, you don't go to jail. We become enamored of the big man, the strong man. We let him break the law.

There are two Cuban congressmen from Miami to the US Congress. They have been duly elected. There are others in other leadership positions. I relate this simplest of facts with the unconcealed pride of a people who are forging a new way.

But I'm not the usual Latin. It is a question of psychology.

Lillian Martinez grew up in Habana, Cuba. Adult years were spent in New Orleans, Louisiana; and Montpelier, Idaho, USA. At present she lives in Greater Austin, Texas, USA, and is a Professional Legal Secretary.

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