Excess Attention / Fernando Dámaso

I don’t think there’s a government in the world that devotes as much attention to what happens in the United States as that of Cuba. The neighbor to the north occupies the greatest space in official statements and the national media, something that never happened in the Republican era when, according to the authorities now, we were a colony of the Empire.

It is striking that everything is said and written focuses on the negative aspects, without dedicating a single line, not one minute, to showing something positive which, without a doubt, must exist, given its great development would be incomprehensible, its attraction for migrants, and the important place it occupies in the international arena.

Many of our commentators, not to mention the authorities, must have as their reason to exist dedicating commentaries and articles to ranting about the powerful neighbor, convinced that, in this way, they are assured of continuing to receive their salaries, and will avoid joining that numerous legion of the “available,” the ultimate euphemism for the unemployed. Thus, it is in the game of participation, whether it is those in politics, the economy, etc., just like those concerned with culture or sports. Everyone contributes their grain of sand to avoid being disqualified.

In the world of advertising there is an old axiom that states that when the message is excessive and saturates its receptor, it produces the opposite of the intended effect. In other words: it creates repulsion for what it is promoting. This has happened with this systematic campaign to discredit: every day there are more Cubans wishing to emigrate to this country and every day too, our population is more influenced by their habits and customs, now being ever more Americanized than before. So much has been said about the big bad wolf, that everyone wants to meet him!

Being measured and limited has never been one of the strong points of our authorities in the last half century. To repeat to the point of boredom the same old arguments and worn out slogans has been a constant: quantity has supplanted quality. Hence, the enormous volume of discrediting news and writings about the United States, which sometimes border on the ridiculous. As with other campaigns, this one too has failed. The reality has been imposed.

June 4 2011