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I was unborn when the Cuba stuff happened (Batista good, Castro bad).

Yep, 50+ years ago.

Today, President Obama has tried – as much as he can – to make the Cuba just another country we do business with.

As a non-Cuban, I applaud. (I only mention this because, if I were a Cuban/Cuban-American, my views may differ.)

While Cuba does have a spotty human-rights record, so do a lot of other countries we consider allies: China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and so on. And the thaw for former adversaries is not without precedent for President Obama: Then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Myanmar (formerly Burma) in November 2011 in an effort to get that country – also known for its spotty human-rights record – back onto the world stage. There, the spotlight might make the country a little less oppressive.

With Cuba, the issue is mainly political, but if you put that aside, our shunning of Cuba makes no sense (note – Obama did not lift the embargo – only Congress can do that, which he encouraged them to do). It’s a island 90 miles off Key West, FL, and all our posturing has done has helped oppressive Cuban leaders stay in power by playing off the anti-American animus. Now that that’s gone, and more American business and people go there, the more the average Cuban will learn about America. NOTE: Again, this will be slow progress, as the embargo severely limits what Obama – and American business/people – can do with regard to the island nation.

Critics of Obama’s Cuban actions are already painting the President’s moves as rewarding our enemies. But how is this a reward? When the US put these punitive measures in place, Castro’s government was in power. It still is today. Oh, 55 years later, we’re saying we support the overthrow? Please….

Why not open trade and relations with Cuba? The past is past; let’s be realistic about the present.