The authoritarian dictatorship on the island nation of Cuba is trying to hide it, but after more than 60 years of tyrannical rule, Cubans are pushing back, demanding freedom. Republicans and other conservatives are cheering on the uprising … but the silence from the Left has been noticeable.
That silence includes some well-known "progressive" Christians who tore into President Donald Trump for blocking the path of oppressed refugees across America's southern border. But they're being strangely silent about the Cuban people who now are fighting oppression in their own country.
"It's a confusing spectacle, to say the least," columnist Peter Heck begins, "because several of these voices for four years were adamant about the need to stand with the refugee, the need to stand with the oppressed, the need to stand with the immigrant."
The Christian columnist finds their silence about Cubans' plight hypocritical – and baffling. "You would think that [for] those same voices this would be a time where they would be up in arms – that they would be shouting from the rooftops," he offers.
"It makes you wonder whether their motivations during the last four years were entirely pure," Heck adds.
Until now, influencers like William Barber, Brian McClaren, and Jim Wallis had been lecturing conservative evangelicals that the U.S. government had a moral duty to welcome and care for the stranger. Heck acknowledges they were loud – but argues they were also wrong.
"If I steal money out of your wallet and give it to somebody who's poor, that isn't you being charitable. That's me being a thief," he explains.
