The "New" Prospects / Fernando Dámaso

The "New" Prospects / Fernando Dámaso
Fernando Dámaso, Translator: Unstated

These days, officially marking the fiftieth anniversary of the creation
of the Union of Young Communists, in numerous acts of its leaders they
have repeated ad nauseam that the youth vanguard's mission is to
maintain the sovereignty and independence of the country and the
irreversibility of socialism. If this was said by some octogenarian it
would be understandable, but in the mouths of young people it is an
absurdity, explicable only by the degree of indoctrination they have
been subjected to during the process of their education.

A country may not proclaim itself sovereign and independent, if every
one of its citizens is not. Also, to speak of sovereignty and
independence in the XXI century, when most countries eliminate borders
and unify their economies and policies, in an increasingly globalized
world, reflects obsolete concepts and eras happily overcome by human
development. Still worse is to use the word irreversibility, and most of
all with regards to some failure.

One supposes that young people, always open to the new and changing,
would bet on a modern and developed country, involved in the world,
corresponding to the time in which they will undertake their life
projects. In this country, this cannot be done, involved as it is in a
permanent crisis, where has taken root inefficiency and arbitrary laws
and political, economic and social regulations remain factors that
hinder their freedom and initiative.

To engage young people with a totally outdated ideology and politics,
which have adversely affected the country's existence as a nation, is
not only unfair it is immoral. Everyone can strongly defend his own
ideas, wrong or not, during all the years of his life, but has no right
to impose them on the new generations.

As if that weren't enough, to great fanfare, they are announcing the May
Day parade, and in addition to counting on the massive participation of
the workers (who will neither protest nor complain, because of all they
have and they will only parade to give thanks), will include fifty
thousand young people, (one thousand for each year of the fiftieth
anniversary), not a single one more nor a single one less, with the
precision of organized and controlled spontaneity of the participants,
well known to have been applied also in the countries of the extinct
socialist camp.

But nevertheless, we have made some progress: no longer do they
establish and publish the authorized slogans the workers can put on
their signs, which was common in previous parades, lest some confused
worker would raise a flag to the wrong thing.

These youth leaders, appointed by the party in their different instances
and controlled by it, many dogmatic and gray, repeating old speeches,
without wanting to recycle them carrying something new, luckily do not
represent the majority of young Cubans.

We have seen many, who have disappeared as fast as they arose, swept by
those who one day gave them a leading role. In short, the last thing we
need are these new prospects. I prefer many civic young people, lovers
of their country, restless, irreverent, questioning it all, full of
questions, intelligent and even inexperienced, but responsible. Maybe
they will be able to undo our economic, political and social wrongs, and
guide the Nation along the paths of prosperity and development.

April 29 2012

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