War, the Press and Politicians

About twenty years ago I was in between jobs and a friend of mine invited me to come to work with him and his dad at their family owned furniture store. Their family had come to this country as refugees from Cuba under Castro's regime. They were most generous and kind and took me in as one of the family.

It was a great time.About a century earlier things were a little different in Cuba.It was the age of prolific inventor Thomas Edison of New Jersey, Mark Twain of Missouri and later Connecticut. A school teacher turned lawyer from Canton, Ohio was President.

Some of the most powerful people in the country were not politicians but used their influence to sway American foreign policy.

William Randolph Heart's New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World newspapers published sensational articles lashing out against the execution of Cuban rebel Adolfo Rodríguez by a Spanish firing squad, in a graphic article, "Death of Rodríguez."

As usual there was world unrest. Nothing new there. In the spirit of our own American revolution, common folks around the world were seeking freedom and liberty from oppressive governments. At the turn of the 20th century, the unrest was not in the Middle East but ninety short miles off the coast of Florida in the Spanish colony of Cuba.

Simultaneously, half way around the world, the Philippine islands were in a struggle to free itself from Spanish domination. About the same time, some Cubans living in New York City were busy planning for a revolution to free their island.

In a less than brilliant strategy, the Spanish military with government approval decided to put as many as 300,000 Cuban civilians into concentration camps to "protect" them from the rebels. The result was a disaster with starvation and disease killing hundreds.

The New York newspapers continued to roll out inflammatory articles and sensational headlines that pointed fingers at the President for not responding to the human degradation.

Beloved author and newsman Richard Harding Davis, resigned from Hearst's New York Journal in disgust for their altering an article he had written to make it more vehement.

On January 24th, 1898 President William McKinley authorized the US battleship, USS Maine to sail from Key West and park itself in Havana Harbor. The ship fell victim to a terrorist attack that killed 532 men and rocked the city so much that windows were blown out and telephone lined destroyed.

In less that three weeks Congress passed a vote for 50 million dollars to strengthen the military.

By April, the United Stated had declared war on Spain. So began the Spanish American War also known as the 100 Day War. Shorter than Lyndon Johnson's Viet Nam but longer than Reagan's Grenada. The US fleet sailed for Havana to blockade Cuban ports.


By May the Army prepared for an attack on the island. By June the Marines had landed at Guantánamo. Former Secretary of War, Teddy Roosevelt led his Rough Riders from Tampa to Santiago de Cuba.

Admiral Dewey proceeds to sink the entire Spanish fleet stationed in the Caribbean.

Negotiations were made in Paris to end the war.U.S. General Leonard Wood was named military governor of Santiago de Cuba.

This is where Clara Barton of the Red Cross cared for wounded soldiers. In this whole deal, the United States got Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines and Hawaii. Talk about power negotiating. Although we did shell out twenty million dollars for the Philippines.

Were it not for outspoken members of the American Anti-Imperialist League, we probably would have 51 stars on our flag and the Philippines would be an American state. Leaders included Andrew Carnegie and Mark Twain.

War finally ended in the Philippines, with more than 4,200 U.S. soldiers killed. What is interesting is that things haven't changed that much in a lot of ways. New York City newspapers still blast the President and question his decisions. There are still inflammatory headlines that try to sway public opinion.

Politicians still love to sound off as if they were really impassioned about something. Grabbing a convenient sound bite for the 6 o'clock news here, a headline there. There are still plenty of social and political commentators like Rush and Imus, although perhaps only Will Rogers in another generation could match the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain.

Much of today's bantor is just a lot of noise.Government is still accused of doing too little too late, balancing caution with zeal. There are still sides to take, fingers to point blame.People still go about their daily business of work, eat and sleep, providing for their family.

So what?

How do you engage in history, have your say, stake your claim, make a difference?

Is life just to make a living and blandly watch the years roll by? Or is there a positive cause worth fighting for anymore?

I was asked to march in an anti-war parade back in the 1960's in Boston. Got to watch Ted Kennedy give a speech on the Boston Common to about 50,000 or so.

Some dude from another campus came through our dorm trying to recruit students who were laying around their dorm room bored. I didn't take him up on the offer. Thought the whole thing seemed like some guys wanting to get their picture in the paper, show off or otherwise feel important.

For me, my self importance came from within. Sure, I was young and naïve, but something told me I didn't need to participate in that way. We can all be a voice for something.

Rick Warren's best seller book, The Purpose Driven Life points that out.

The choice comes when you decide to either whine and moan and complain about the way things are, or step up to the plate to hit a homerun for something positive, noble, bold, courageous, important, life-changing. Interested?