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Response to Balaam's Courier

Today at General Synod, Balaam's Courier included an article critical of UCCtruths. I like criticism and encourage it - it's the reason why the message board was set up and it's the reason why I eagerly post rebuttals by UCC leaders. No one has ownership of the truth, especially me.

For those unfamiliar with Balaam's Courier, according to it's web site, "its multiple blue pages have been written and distributed at each General Synod of the United Church of Christ for more than 25 years. Balaam's Courier has no official standing or support within the United Church of Christ. Because of that, it is possible for Balaam's to freely interject political opinions, critiques, and challenges for our denomation (sic) in these difficult times of global injustice." It should be noted that retired UCC minister Ted Braun as been an active contributor and editor of Balaam's Courier.

According to the Balaam's Courier article (which isn't online), they didn't like my characterization of CDR's (Committees for the Defense of the Revolution) in a February article in which I called them government snitches. Balaam's countered with a romanticized image of CDR's as glorified neighborhood watch groups..

Here's the background.

In February, I was extremely critical of comments by Pennsylvania Southeast Conference spokesman Joe Irwin in the Miami Herald about new travel restrictions to Cuba. In the article, Irwin complains:

'I believe the reinterpretation of the existing religious laws directly restricts my right as an American to practice my religion,'' said Joe Irwin, spokesman for the United Church of Christ's Southeast Pennsylvania Region. "I think it's offensive, and actually quite scary to Americans that suddenly their right to practice their religion is controlled by the government.''

It was a stupidly melodramatic statement. Irwin's online "travelogue" of a visit to Cuba he made looked like a vacation - and it's exactly the kind of travel that the government is trying to restrict. Irwin wasn't practicing his religion and his comment to the press was horribly disingenuous. In the article, I noted:

In the Travelogue, Irwin details all the beautiful places they went and even notes "In Cuba, every block or neighborhood is organized around a CDR (Committee for Defense of the Revolution.) These CDR groups work to solve local problems," and "Several CDRs got together to throw a huge block party for us. There was much hospitality with lots of music, dancing, food, rum and friendly conversation."

To anyone with even the slightest bit of knowledge about the governmental control structures in Cuba, the CDR's were formed during the Cuban Missile Crisis to keep the locals from speaking out against the revolution or taking part in any uprisings against Castro. Today, the primary function of the CDR is that of a local snitch.

Irwin wasn't pleased with the post and responded. I posted his complete note which really didn't refute anything in the article that I posted and he even conceded that "perhaps, I was a bit over-dramatic".

A month later, I received an email from Ted Braun asking what my sources were for the information. I told him that I spoke with Cuban refugees, researched it in Encyclopedia Britannica and the World Policy Institute. In my email response to Ted, I told him that there was conflicting information on when the CDR's were formed but that "my primary interest wasn't as much about when they were formed, but the function they perform for the Cuban government."

Here is the exact information I provided to Ted which he conveniently left out of the Balaam's article:

Encyclopedia Britannica has the following entry on the CDR's:

"The government also created several mass organizations, notably the ubiquitous Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, which maintain vigilance against ideological "enemies" and intimidate dissenters and are organized in every city, factory, and workplace and in many rural counties."

From the World Policy Institute (http://www.worldpolicy.org/globalrights/carib/1997-cuba.html#penal):

"The CDRs are a nationwide network of neighborhood block associations which act as appendages of the state security apparatus, operating as its eyes and ears on a daily basis. The CDRs were founded in 1960 as a defense against violent counterrevolution and developed into a ubiquitous mechanism of social and political control. The CDR system, like all mass organizations in Cuba, is organized like a pyramid. There is a national directorate headed by a national coordinator. At the next level are the fourteen CDR provincial committees, and beneath those are regional, municipal and zone committees. The zone CDRs oversee the individual block committees.

CDR members spy on their neighbors and, in turn, urge them to spy on others and fill out "Opinion Collection Forms" about what they hear their neighbors and colleagues saying during the course of daily life, particularly their political opinions. The completed forms are then passed on by the CDRs to the police and MININT. The CDRs also rely on networks of chivatos, "stool pigeons," to gather information on people's behavior. The CDRs operate in conjunction and overlap with the CTC, the UJC, the FMC, and the FEU, which perform the same functions in the workplace and in the schools. The failure to report criminal activity, including political "crimes," is itself considered a crime punishable under Cuban law. In assessing the penetration of the state into daily life, one young man said to the delegation from Pax Christi Netherlands, "I can't even trust my friends."

OK, so Ted Braun lied.