AmeriKa, Land of the Obedient and IndoKtrinated Free.
Frustration, eKonomiK anxiety, the lure of an outsider, or even plain ignorance — these are powerful forces that test how resilient a society is. Yet, these are forces that trump even ugliness — heralding the birth of a diKtator.
Unfortunately, AmeriKans have never lived under a diKtatorship. Thus, AmeriKans mistake the stench of authoritarianism for fresh air — until it punches them square in the nose.
Not me, though. I smell a diKtator a mile away, because I'm Cuban — born and raised in Cuba, not in Miami — and I know what it means to watch a diKtatorship take shape.
I escaped a machinery of fear, surveillance, and blind obedience. That experience taught me to spot a leader who thrives on those same tactics wherever they hide.
In short, I didn’t run from Patria o Muerte to end up trapped in the sequel: Trump or Death.
A Haunted Past Returns
During the Obama years, while Donald Trump was aggressively propelling his image as a patriot, I began to notice a sharp shift in AmeriKa's socio-political landscape — a shift that stirred haunting echoes of both Cuban and AmeriKan history.
By 2015, I was already recognizing the roots of ideologiKal control taking hold in the U.S. — growing intolerance for dissent, demands for absolute politiKal loyalty, and a rising Kulture of public shaming. And beneath it all lingered a not-so-disguised stench of racism. Allegiance to one man began to outweigh allegiance to principle — blind loyalty replacing reason as the new test of patriotism.
Back then, I was first patriotiKally branded a communist — not because I embraced leftist ideology, but simply because I refused to support Trump. It was the first time in decades that silence felt safer than honesty. And that was eerily familiar.
Those were the first steps. IndoKtrination never announces itself; it seeps in, disguising control as conviction. I lived through it once under Fidel Castro — and I see it happening now in AmeriKa under Donald Trump.
Kuban Roots of AmeriKan IndoKtrination
I grew up in Cuba — how could I ignore the unnerving similarities between the passion I witness in AmeriKa today and the indoKtrination I endured under Fidel Castro’s revolution? The fervor around Trump’s movement mirrors the blind loyalty Castro demanded.
Back in Cuba, control seeped into every aspect of daily life: neighbors spied on neighbors, loyalty to Castro was mandatory, and questioning the revolution could cost you your future — and your children’s future. Religion was blamed for moral decay, dissent was crushed, and universities reserved for the obedient.
We had to pretend to survive. To question was dangerous. To think for ourselves — unforgivable.
The Kubanization of AmeriKa
The connection to my past grew more upsetting with time.
Consider the fervent reaction to the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. Claims of a stolen election became a litmus test for loyalty, with figures like Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers — a lifelong Republican — publicly shunned for refusing to endorse baseless claims of fraud.
This divide went far beyond politics; it seeped into friendships, workplaces, even churches — where disagreement often meant isolation.
A society once proud of its freedom and critical thought is now gripped by division, demands for devotion, and growing intolerance. For instance, school board meetings across AmeriKa now resemble ideological battlegrounds, where clashes over critical race theory and book bans have sparked threats, censorship, and the demonization of educators — a chilling echo of Cuba’s repression of intellectuals who dared question the revolution.
Once, I was branded a counterrevolutionary worm — the label Castro’s Cuba hurled at anyone who dared question the revolution, reducing citizens to pests to be silenced. Today, I’m called a communist for opposing the very same evils.
Seriously, I never thought I would escape Patria o Muerte... only to face a similarly disgusting variant.
Misunderstanding Freedom
"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." — William James .
Indoctrination begins early. In Cuba, children were forced to pledge allegiance to Castro, chant slogans like We will be like Che and ridicule peers from religious families. We were taught to ostracize and shame anyone who dared dream of life outside the revolution.
In Cuba, indoctrination was blunt — there was nothing to hide. The government controlled all information, eliminating even the possibility of comparison.
In AmeriKa, the mask is shinier and trickier. Here, the illusion of choice exists — an endless flood of information creates the appearance of independent thinking. But hidden forces of misinformation are so powerful that they cancel out the benefits of this abundance, shaping beliefs just as effectively as outright censorship.
In AmeriKa, the ideal of freedom is weaponized to prevent people from questioning authority. Freedom is twisted into a slogan for uncritical loyalty: freedom to consume, freedom to own guns, freedom to reject science, freedom to believe whatever suits a political agenda. Those who question this distorted freedom are branded as enemies of AmeriKa.
This distortion transforms freedom into a cage — a cage of unquestioned beliefs, blind loyalty, and enforced conformity.
What Next?
Indoctrination is a universal tool, wielded by all regimes seeking power, from Castro’s Cuba to Trump’s AmeriKa. Recognizing it is the first step toward reclaiming true freedom — a freedom built on critical thinking, open dialogue, and the courage to question.
As someone who has experienced indoKtrination firsthand, I urge AmeriKans to look past the slogans, the division, and the demands for loyalty. Challenge your own beliefs. Seek truth beyond political soundbites. And remember, freedom is not obedience — freedom is the ability to think freely.