One example of a proxy war was Cuba. The goal of the United States in Cuba was to stop the spread of communism and influence democratic policies. Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro supported …show more content…
Both of them live in a new world that was colonized by Europeans. Cuba was colonized by Spain, and the British colonized the United States. Cuba, as well as the United States, was built in part by slaves brought from Africa, and people can trace their heritage to both the slave-owners and the slaves. Each has welcomed immigrants, too (Speech, 10). Cuba’s culture is just like the United States; they have blended together. Dr. Finlay’s work helped emerge doctors like Walter Reed in Cuba, and Ernest Hemmingway, inspired by the waters of the shores, lived in Cuba (Speech 11). When talking about the national past times of sports, Obama mentions that our players will compete in Havana on the same field that Jackie Robinson played on in the past, and that Muhammad Ali has bowed down to a Cuban boxer whom he knew he could not defeat (Speech, 11). The Cha-Cha-Cha, the Salsa, ropa vieja, and many musicians like Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, and Pitbull are seen throughout both the United States and Cuba. Love, passion, pride, patriotism, education, and family are all important values in the two countries (Speech, 13).
By stating all of the similarities, the differences cannot be ignored. The economic, social, and government systems are quite different in Cuba than they are in the United States. Cuba has a one-party system with a socialist economic model, and the United States is a multi-party …show more content…
The ideas of Enlightenment through the people from the past (Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Jefferson) have influenced his ideas of what a country should be made of today. His ideas of equality under the law, education, health care, shelter, freedom of speech and faith, right to organize and criticize government as well as choosing their governments in free and democratic elections, to protest peacefully, and to have the rule of law free from arbitrary detentions (Speech, 30). The characteristics of Enlightenment are endless in Obama’s hope for Cuba. (freedoms, education of the masses, constitutions, etc.). John Locke believed in people having rights and how sovereignty resides in the people. Locke also stated in his book The Second Treatise of Civil Government that the government is where people are civil and work together and appoint rulers to establish a government based on the consent of the people (Traditions and Encounters, 637). Voltaire believed in individual and religious freedom, and Rousseau believed in equality under the law (Traditions and Encounters, 638). Rousseau also stated in The Social Contract that he believed that members of a society collectively are the sovereigns (Sources of World History, 435). Jefferson stated in The Declaration of Independence that individuals established governments