Cuba and independent minded Cubans would have been a good fit as another state of the United States of America, by geography and sentiment at the beginning of 20th century. Industrious, self-reliant and entrepreneurial Cubans.
Same year of Castro's revolution, Alaska and Hawaii joined as states of America. Alaskan and Hawaiian golden anniversary celebration as US citizens will be markedly different as the citizens of socialist Cuba.
Instead Cuba has headlines like this…
Fifty years later, Cubans still are fleeing the revolution
The revolution never met their hopeful expectations, the island they love has slipped into decay, and for many, this week's golden anniversary provides little more than a flashback to traumas, old and new.
Communist Cuba: 50 Years Of Failure
New Year's Day marks 50 years of communist rule in Cuba. The Castro oligarchy will trumpet its survival and celebrate. But the reality, up close, is that it's the longest-running failure in the New World.
Today, Puerto Rico is still tethered to the US not a state. Philippines, wobbly democratic since 1946, had an estimated GDP of $300B in 2007, real growth rate of 7.3%, overly liberal press, overly critical of themselves 90 million strong masses, whose biggest import are dollar remittances and balikbayan boxes from family oriented and charitable Filipino immigrants in the US.
Alaska nurtured a conservative darling, Governor Sarah Palin and Hawaii, an ultra-liberal President–elect. Never would have happen if powers that be in the past did not join US of A.
