What colleges and the media don’t tell millennials about Cuba

Fidel Castro, the communist dictator who ruled over Cuba for five decades, instituted a one-party government, and seized control over all aspects of Cuban life has finally died. Multiple generations of Cuban Americans living in Miami flooded the streets of little Havana, waving flags, dancing and cheering “Cuba Libre!” at the landmark Versailles restaurant.

The celebration symbolized being one step closer towards economic and political freedom in Cuba. However, weighing heavily on their hearts and minds are the 11 million people currently living on the island that will continue to live oppressed.

Castro’s death presents an opportunity to educate a new generation about the consequences of political systems. Young Cuban Americans who have not experienced communism firsthand tend to favor big government policies more than their parents and grandparents who lived under the regime.

Unfortunately, some of our national leaders, major news outlets, college professors, and athletes such as Colin Kaepernick extoll the virtues of Castro and communism.

Americans have been told that the Castro regime provides its people with healthcare and education, but we do not get the full picture. We have not been told about the inadequacies of these services or the great human cost the Cuban people pay in exchange. Cuba has the highest suicide rate per capita in the Americas. We have not heard about the heartbreaking stories of the hundreds of thousands of victims, the gays and lesbians who have been thrown in concentration camps, those who have had their homes and business seized, and their places of worship shut down by the government.