Cuba Through the Years

From reading about the Cuban revolution 50 years ago I can see how the Castro regime was seen as the saving grace of the Cuban people, but instead it has meant another 50 years of corruption, with the population living like peasants. Countless citizens have either been forced into exile or fled in the hopes of finding a better life. For the last half century, the United States has dealt with the problem with a resounding silence...something akin to "Talk to the Hand". The government has steadfastly denied travel and trade between the United States and Cuba in the supposed hopes of driving Communism from the soil of our island neighbor. In the last few years the long term dictator Fidel Castro has fallen ill (being 82 years old it's to be expected) and has given power over to his younger brother Raul. Recently, American citizens have come to hope that the travel and trade restrictions would be lessened or dropped completely. There are several opinions about this, most of them controversial. Those in favor of the embargo state that the Communist government has nearly been driven out and to open trade with Cuba would infuse the country with American tourist dollars, reinforcing it. Those who oppose the embargo seem to think that by helping the average Cuban citizens we have a greater chance of appealing to them and like the Castros before them, revolutionize their way of thinking beyond Communism. Also, most Americans today feel that the Cuban embargo is some sort of fuddy-duddy oldtimer superstitious treatment for Communist governments. Their is a growing group of Americans who weren't even born when the embargo went into effect and they want some say in the matter. Regardless, this particular issue is bound to drag out far beyond the point where it is interesting or applicable. I myself am in favor of dropping the embargo in an attempt to appeal directly to the Cuban people. If at all possible I would bypass the corrupt government and infuse money directly into support programs and jobs for the Cubans instead of supplying the government with cash or even worse, using Cuba as a resort destination and sending all that money directly back to the U.S. which will undoubtedly cause even greater dislike for America among the Cuban people.