I would like to try something new for Info Ink….hopefully my readers will find it interesting and thought provoking……it will be how one minor decision could have changed history……I wish I could say that this is an original idea but it is not…..several noted authors have written along these lines……from time to time it is fun to re-write history…i mean…if politicians can do it why not us mere mortals?
From time to time I do take some time away from the endless political mierda that the media would have us to believe and some times it is just not what is real…..during this time I think of “what ifs” in history, just how things might have turned out differently if another choice had been made…..
During this election season the GOP has started bringing up Castro again….it seems to be inevitable that Cuba’s leader ill be brought up, especially in a Florida campaign with its massive amounts of Cubans living in Southern Florida….so with the disingenuous subject made me think of one of my “what ifs”…..
There is a myth that was flying around that back in the 1950’s that Fidel Castro had a try-out with the Washington Senators as a pitcher. Now, what if Castro had tried out and signed with the Washington Senators……..he would not have lead the 1959 rebellion against Batista, who would have remained in power and a friend to the US….without the rebellion there would have been no need for the Bay of Pigs and without the bay of pigs there would have been no Cuban Missile crisis…..and Cuba would today be the most sought after vacation spot in the Western hemisphere…..
Batista would have probably been ousted by the CIA because he was a cause for concern……Cuba would have become more democratic but still with problems but nothing the CIA could not handle…….without the rebellion there would have been no massive Cuban immigration into South Florida….without that immigration there would be NO huge GOP voting bloc in the 1980 election and Jimmy Carter would have eeked out a win…….with a win in 1980 and the hostage thing settled Carter would have turned his energy into finding a solution for the Israeli-Palestinian problem……and the middle east would have been a quieter place…..
And if Carter had won re-election we would have a better alt energy policy and our dependence on foreign oil would be considerably less……
These are just a few things that would have been altered if Castro had been signed by the Washington Senators……just a ‘what if’ but it illustrates that even one minor decision could have changed the world considerably…….
I will be posted these types of ‘what ifs’ from time to time….gives my mental processes a break from the mind numbing ‘political crack’ that is US politics……hope it was enjoyable.
Your premise assumes that Castro would have made it the majors. What if it turned out he just wasn’t that good after all? 🙂
At best then the revolution would have been delayed.
On the other hand, had he been that good I think your points are likely except for a Carter victory. Carter only took 49 electoral votes. I don’t think the Cuban bloc in Florida or elsewhere was big enough to overcome that deficit. Like most elections, it was about the economy then too.
Larry, yep, it is a myth that he tried out for the Senators……..the bloc in S. Florida was pretty sizeable and if not for Iran….i think he would have been re-elected in a squeaker…..
Interesting. What if Ronald Raygun was still alive today? Something to think about.
Hansi…there would be this giant glass cathedral in California where the awe struck would come to worship….
You’re assuming Castro was the sole reason for the rebellion, when in fact that is ahistorical. He was part of the rebellion, but so were other people – like Che Guevera. Someone would have taken his place.
I also don’t quite understand your obsession with Jimmy Carter, Lob. Let it go, would ya? Damn near 40 years ago now. LOL. He lost. He would have lost even without Iran. The economy was in shambles! Whether the fault of the incumbent or not, you know it’s difficult for anyone to win reelection when the economy is such bad shape.
He was not the sole reason but he was the only one that brought the factions together as a viable force…..Che was a doctor not a leader until Castro saw his capabilities……
if you recall this is a what if and it came to mind after hearing someone talk about the Bay of pigs……I do not think obsessed with carter…personally, I think he could have done a lot but he was something that we do not see today….forward thinking…maning looking to the future and not to the next 5 year plan….which by the way is also a Stalinist plan….
First of all, I’m not even sure Che finished med school. But regardless, the romance of the movement was entirely Che…Not Castro! Castro was simply a strong-headed fool that lucked out. Che would have been, in my view, a much, much, much, much better leader. And he would have been had he survived. As a right-winger, I’ll
honestly say that I love Che…Seriously. Something about the man just draws you in. Tell me he wouldn’t have been a better leader…
Carter might have been “forward” thinking, but he might as well been a character on Star Trek. What are you even talking about? His desire to get off foreign oil? Yeah! Find a way to do that in 1977 and I will retroactively vote for you, Lob…
Terrance, yep Che was an amazing person……anyone willing to die for what they believe in is an amazing person…….
His ideas on oil were no more absurd than the same trickle down BS of the GOP today….something that has not work and will never work…….
Americans were well on their way to more fuel efficient cars and then the crisis ending and so do the support for those cars…it could have been carried forward….it would not have completely ending the addiction but it would have been a start…..
And shame on you for even mentioning that loser Carter. LOL. For real, man.
I’d honestly – and I’m NOT joking – vote for Che Guevara before Carter. I love Che. Seriously. I honestly do. You may disagree with him on some things (I do), but he was real and had a purpose and cared about people. Carter? A fool. No way. Che over Carter and Obama any day….
I did not vote for him but i will give props where they are due…I will not become a megaphone for crap……but yeah to your point…I would have voted for Che…..
Now that I’m NOT drinking, let me reiterate.
I like Che Guevara. I’m not a communist or socialist, but still I like Guevara. Why? Because he cared about people and was willing to die for what he believed in, as you said. You have to respect that.
Carter was, in my view, an all around bad president. President Obama is, again in my view, a terrible president that wasted all his political capital on a worthless healthcare bill. So, since we’re being all hypothetical, I say I’d much rather a man like Che than men like Carter or Obama. Ideally, I’d rather a man like Reagan…
I agree with you about Che…….I do not think that Carter was a bad president but rather ineffectual…..and Reagan would have a hard time in the GOP today he would be considered too moderate……
Che 4 Life…No matter what you say!