Victor M. Diaz Jr. Published Monday, May 15, 2000, in the Miami Herald
Víctor M. Díaz Jr., a Miami lawyer, is a visiting member of The Herald's Editorial Board.
It has become fashionable for certain liberal voices in the Cuban-American community to state categorically that they speak for the ``silent majority'' of Cuban Americans. I uphold their right to hold and express their liberal views, but the degree of popular support for those views should not
be misrepresented.
The Herald's public-opinion polls show a high degree of agreement among Cuban Americans on most issues of U.S.-Cuba policy. A greater respect for minority views should be encouraged, without silencing the right of the majority to exercise its collective clout. Being in the minority entitles one
to have his or her views heard and respected, but that doesn't mean that minority views should be expected to prevail over those of the majority.
The same can be said about the effort under way to repeal the Miami-Dade County ordinance barring county-subsidized groups from presenting artists from Cuba. One cannot read the ordinance and claim the ban to be ``censorship and intimidation.''
The ordinance doesn't prohibit anyone from sponsoring or presenting a Cuban artist or group in Miami-Dade County. It simply prohibits the use of county halls or auditoriums and county subsidies if one engages in those activities. Anyone wishing to present Los Van Van using his or her own money
and permanently forgoing public subsidies can do so. There is nothing in the ordinance to stop them.
UNDERSTAND BOTH SIDES
Rational discussions of such issues require a balanced presentation of the underlying facts, particularly when dealing with an issue of such emotional volatility. We share a responsibility to try to understand both sides of this issue, before arriving at the unshakable certainty that so often
characterizes opinions in South Florida.
The views that ultimately should prevail ought to be the most persuasive to the greatest number of people.
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