As if we didn't have enough Irony this year and election cycle, Castro's death now invites disturbing parallels.

It's like Cuba went into a deep sleep, and woke up not to the revolution, but to Batista's government back in power - with the new/old values led from Washington - more 5-star hotels, "beautiful women", rigged mafia ties, military/security force backing and a callous disregard for poverty or those disconnected from this wealth.

Yes, America's voted in the Batista of the 50's to be its new Godfather-in-Chief.

It should be remembered that once upon a time Batista was a reformer for Cuba's classically fucked system - in the 40's as their first non-white leader pushing improvements in poverty, health care, other areas desperately needed.

When he came back via coup, he was a changed man - a reminder that so many men get uglier and uglier as they age, despite the promise of their youth.

For all the Cuban Revolution's faults, and there have been many, it was always assumed that the image of Cuba as the whorehouse of the Caribbean, infested with Mafia types, drugs, hotels built on profligacy in the face of poverty, and all these other trappings were in retrospect unsustainable, invited overthrow.

When Castro overthrew Batista, that corruption shifted to the home front, to Las Vegas. And here we are 60 years later electing one of the major symbols of that flashy, decadent, mirage of a (man's) playground in the desert as our incoming President - some pretentious cigar-smoking huckster who surrounds himself with ostentatious and laughable "glamour" that we used to put down as "nouveau riche", but now it's rebranded "nouveau kitsch", and perhaps it fits our society better than ever - conspicuous consumption, boisterous self-promotion, loud mouth behavior.

It's like a cheap buyer's channel on TV for flashing limited time only!!! crap through the wee hours of the morning (no wonder he Tweets at 3am). Mr. Beauty Pageant, symbol of 1950's & 1960's Americana, replete with skin-showing girls to show off the one thing they're valued for, and treated as such. In case you missed it, our new Emperor's daughter-cum-trophy-wife has a compleat line of bling and "Working Girls" evening gown, chic casual wear and other attire appropriate for well-kept ladies of the evening and male fashion accessories.

We're living in an even worse remake of "Casino", stuck back in time, not with the sincere but goofy "Leave it to Beaver", but more like "All in the Family": Gambino, Genovese, Bonanno, and the rest.

Yes, a part of Cuba died today, and a part of America did as well. Instead of a new era of progressivism, we've fallen back to our core values: love of quick cash, cheap sex, glitzy possessions, and loud-mouthed behavior, with a penchant for lecturing and lording it over the rest of the world.

Even as Obama in his final days lowers the embargo on Cuba, don't be surprised if Castro's brother Raúl raises it back up. Because for all their faults, the Castros always did maintain a bit of self-respect, never seemed to so cravenly sell out for a bit of needed cash. Did they ever need to descend into such silly platitudes as "America is great because America is good" (sorry, Hillary) or one of these other camp lines for the supposedly exceptional nation?

Self-respect: something we could learn from a little backwards island in the Caribbean. "You may keep us poor, but we'll still focus on health and education" - worse mantras have been spoken. Michael Moore made a pilgrimage in "Sicko" to see how they do it, yet still, America scoffs at its sick, criminalizes its poor, imprisons its addicted, and now seems ripe to promote some new vision of Aryan New York beauty as the salve that will cure all that ails America.

"Make America Great Again"? It's like my favorite passage from Salinger, roughly "will you quit trying so goddam hard, Buddy. Cause if you try so hard, it means you think you're gonna miss". I'd rather aspire to Spike Lee's line, "Do the Right Thing", and let the chips fall as may. 

60 years ago to the day of Castro's death, 82 revolutionaries set sail from Veracruz in their boat named Granma, landing on the Cuban island in a mangrove swamp, only 19 surviving the 7 day journey and bloody landing. Over the next 2 years, the Castros, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos were to lead a guerrilla revolution from the jungle, with hit-and-run operations around the country, with brutal executions and torture in return. Whatever you may say about their mission, it took major cojones, unlike the infantile feeble rantings of our famed chicken-hawks and remote distance warriors dominating the worldscape today.

When Batista departed his palace for the last time on January 1, 1959, the Castros had accomplished a near impossible, and upon nationalizing the oil fields and 75% foreign-owned land, were rewarded with a 60 year embargo on exports to Castro. Ironic even as our President-elect has proclaimed that we should have nationalized all of Iraq's oil fields to pay for our misadventure.

Well, Fidel is dead, but he inspired a couple of generations of impoverished people that they could take matters into their own hands, could struggle against repression and exploitation, could focus on the needs of the poor and disenfranchised, hold their heads up with dignity and still flash that endearing Cuban smile whatever their fortunes. It may not have been completely successful, but as a friend used to say, "you may whip my ass, but you'll be one tired motherfucker when you're done".

And indeed, I feel tired. R.I.P., Fidel. Y vaya con Dios.