An Historic Event

I’ve been rejoicing at the news coverage of our President in Cuba and in the beginning of the normalization of relations with the Cuban people. It is probably a bridge too far, even after all these years, for an American President to extend our sincere apologies to the Cuban people for not supporting them in their struggle for liberation. Perhaps that day will yet come. How different the entire period of time after the Cuban revolution would have been had we sided with the Cuban people instead of with their cruel dictator, the gambling casinos, and the labor exploiting big plantation owners, thus driving the liberation leaders to seek help and support elsewhere.

It is especially hard for the great and powerful to admit having done wrong, and nothing in the current events approaches such overt admission. But complete healing of the breach between such close neighbors may not come until that happens.

Let us hope that the independence gained by the Cuban people from oppressive conditions sixty years ago is not lost by the reentry of multinational businesses into their affairs. And let us hope that America is true to its professed alliance with all those who seek liberation from tyranny, especially those closest to us, who deserve our protection all the more.

“That it may please thee to defend and provide for…all who are desolate and oppressed;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please thee to give us true repentance ; to forgive us all our sins, negligences, and ignorances…
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

Ron Hicks, Parish Verger, St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Washington DC, 22-March-2016.