I work with a girl named Lorelei Belindean-Castillo whose parents fled from Romania in 1983 to escape the dictatorship and socialist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu.
Her Romanian culture and her parents’ past was a strong influence. Ceausescu is a name they know well and a nightmare her parents remember clearly.
Lorelei’s husband Andy Castillo comes from a family with a similar background. His parents fled from Cuba to escape Fidel Castro and find liberty in the United States. Neither of their parents will vote for Barack Obama on Nov. 4. In their eyes, Obama is neither the Castro we know who pumped his fists and screamed antics, nor the famous Ceausescu who controlled every aspect of Romanians’ lives. He is the Ceausescu before he came to power who supposedly cared about their every need and the Castro before his presidency, full of smooth words.
As Lorelei put it, Americans cannot understand for a moment what it feels like to be under their regime or how they came to power: subtly, using wonderful speaking skills, mass crowds and plenty of utopian promises.
“It’s the exact reason they’re not supporting Obama,” she said. “Americans cannot understand socialism, as hard as they try. What it is like, the feeling of it all around you, the taste and glimpses that my parents catch from Obama and it scares them. Americans cannot understand socialism and how it comes about, because the extent of their understanding stops at the books. They don’t get it.”
I also have a friend named Laura Solorzano in Venezuela who was part of a student movement last year against Hugo Chavez. Although Obama initially intrigued her, she now tells me to do everything I can to prevent him from getting elected.
“He’s a very good speaker…and that is exactly what I don’t like,” she said. She has explained to me that Chavez ran in similar conditions to those in America today, economic hardships. He was a very smooth speaker and promised some socialist programs to supposedly make the people’s lives easier.
What could I do but cry wolf? At the end of the day, you’ll think for yourselves. You’ll make a decision and put a little “x” on the screen. It’s crazy to think that tomorrow less than an inch difference up or down could mean drastically different fates for our future. You know where I stand, please stand with me.
Editor’s Note8212;Heather Berg is the chairwoman of the U College Republicans
Heather Berg