In more than one occasion, the current policy of embargo was challenged by representatives from the think-tanks as not serving the purpose of actually promoting democracy in the Cuba, which is seen as inimical to campaign for democratic consolidation in the region.
The chapter entitled, Through the Looking Glass, dealt mainly with how the political debate on Cuba has encroached in the arena of American pop culture. The chapter opens with Michael Moore's attempt to present another of his acerbic documentary about the U.S. health care system, a 15-minute segment of which was devoted to portraying the Cuban health care system. Moore's exploit to Cuba have earned him the ire of the U.S. State Department, which led him to "exile" his film to nearby Canada to protect it from being seized by the Bush administration in light of its current policy of isolation with regard to Cuba. The chapter includes several instances where attempts to reach out to the Cuban people, in some instances with the government of Fidel Castro, are discussed which comprise the U.S.'s so-called soft diplomatic policy through cultural exchange. The battle for the minds of America...
While the contention was brought to the legal arena, the struggle to create a picture of Cuba in the minds of young Americans, whether in the Cuban-American community or not, continues as books are written and rewritten depending on whose lenses are being used. The chapter also shows another unexpected arena of struggle emerged in the area of commercializing the images of celebrated revolutionary Che Guevarra, which earned the ire of the Cuban regime, as well as pro-Cuba activists, with the idea of a capitalist venture amassing profits at the expense of a popular figure of the Cuban revolution while popularizing one its heroes in the psyche of the consuming American public. The Internet also is shown as a new arena where debate over Cuba has found fertile ground for intellectual battle as illustrated by the Cuba entry in the popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. Certainly, the virtual battleground remains to be popular among the more savvy champions of the Cuban cause or their anti-Cuba counterparts. The chapter also reveals that no
