Colleagues: Many of you have recommended we reach out to bring a wider diversity of opinion in our NSF commentary from a broader community of writers. I think you will agree we are doing that today with this provocative essay by Dr. Carina Black and Bezita Lashkariani.
We have everything to lose
By Dr. Carina Black and Bezita Lashkariani
Last month, on April 17, the world lost its most magical novelist of the 20th century. Gabriel García Márquez passed away in his adopted homeland, Mexico, after years of political activism that embodied the lives and conflicts of nations whose dreams of independence and freedom still persevere. Flags flew at half-mast in Mexico and his birthplace, Colombia, as the masses across the globe paid homage to his captivating, literary legacy.
Yet, precisely because of that political activism, he was banned from the United States for more than three decades. During the same period of time, his fierce opposition to U.S. foreign policy, his decisive stand against the past colonization of Latin America, and his unequivocal condemnation of Western imperialism made him an ally of every bearded revolutionary on the left and a pariah of every zealot on the right.
Even his prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature didn’t have the political clout to open the gates of the magical land of opportunities to García Márquez.
The gates eventually did open when one of his fans became the president of the United States. In fact, in 1996, from an abhorred leftist with ties to the Colombian Communist Party and a detested close friend of Fidel Castro, García Márquez suddenly became the honored guest of Bill Clinton on Martha’s Vineyard.
What did the United States actually accomplish by banning García Márquez from the country for more than three decades? Absolutely nothing. But the fear of communism was the driving force on those days. So was the loathing for Fidel Castro.
As the director of Northern Nevada International Center, I’ve (Carina Black) sat across the table from hundreds of emerging community leaders and activists who come to the United States eager to understand the American mindset. Some, similar to García Márquez, oppose our government’s support for despotic regimes and crave to see a change in our foreign policy.
Others come here, carrying with them memories of past CIA orchestrated coups or the accounts of present covert operations and indiscriminate drone attacks descending from the skies on their nations. Many come to learn about our democracy and legal system.
The political maturity of handing the power over to one’s opponent after free and fair elections, our system of checks and balances, and the independence of our judiciary are just a few topics that fascinate these foreign visitors.
For all, though, the lure of that shinning light on the hill lies with its evolving democracy. A nation that has overcome slavery, as well as other forms of discrimination against a rainbow of many minorities, can change.
We, the People, have everything to lose when dissenting voices are silenced within or beyond our borders. The dialogue between nations, particularly among opposing activists and intellectuals, is long overdue because neither governments nor politicians ought to be given the sole power over our collective destinies.
Indeed, in García Márquez’s words, races condemned to solitude shall not have a second opportunity on earth.
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Carina Black is the executive director of the Northern Nevada International Center. A native of Argentina, she completed her Ph.D. in comparative politics with an emphasis on Latin America at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Bezita Lashkariani is completing her undergraduate degree in journalism at the University of Nevada. She hails from Iran and plans to begin work on a master’s degree in political science at the University of Nevada, Reno soon.