No need to boost our image in Latin nations

Bob Lewicki, Las Vegas

Monday, April 6, 2009 | 2:02 a.m.

On Saturday the Las Vegas Sun published an editorial on opening the doors to Cuba. I am not for or against allowing anyone to spend his wages in support of a communist country such as Cuba, which hates the United States and embraces our enemies. It’s your money, and in a free society you should be able to waste it in any way you desire.

However, at the end of the editorial, the Sun mentions that ending those restrictions could be an important step toward enhancing our image in Latin America. What utter nonsense!

How many of our citizens are climbing fences to get into Mexico? Do we need to enhance our image with that nation? The totally corrupt Mexican system, death by drug dealers — now there we really need to enhance our image! How about Argentina, which started a war over the Falkland Islands only to be defeated by a freedom-loving leader, Margaret Thatcher?

How about Panama, which was run by a drug-dealing military strongman until the United States rescued the good Panamanian people from him? How about Colombia, the biggest producer of crack and cocaine? We really need to enhance our image with that country, too! How about Brazil, which now has a leader who blames the world’s problems on blue-eyed white people? Gee, I hate having a bad image with him.

The good people of Costa Rica and Chile don’t believe we need to enhance our image with them, but then again, how many citizens of Chile or Costa Rica are risking their lives to sneak into the United States? Could it be that they have developed a political system “in our image”?

Our “image” should have no problem standing on its merits and history and surely doesn’t need to be artificially “enhanced” under any circumstances, no matter what any liberal writer believes.