Of Shoes, Enemies and Embargoes

I got this really great pair of shoes last week. They're really comfortable, they look good and I really like them a lot. As I took them off last night I happened to notice where they are made: Vietnam. Now I know that very few shoes are made in the USA anymore and I have no gripe with the people of Vietnam. The craftsmanship of the shoes is perfect, they are very well made and I couldn't be happier with my purchase. My gripe? Why is it that we can trade with a country where in the not too distant past we lost (according to Wikipedia) 58,159 of our people yet we have an ongoing embargo with Cuba for almost 47 years? To the best of my knowledge we never fought a war with Cuba. To the best of my knowledge our casualty count regarding conflicts with Cuba is virtually nil. Let's not even mention World War Two and the fact that Germany and Japan are significant trading partners. The British are our strongest ally yet we fought them for our independence. We had an embargo with Libya, yes that Libya, but we lifted that one after about eight years.

OK, maybe I'm being a little transparent here. Did you see this coming? This is all about the cigars. As an American citizen I cannot legally smoke a Cuban cigar. I cannot legally smoke one anywhere in the world! That's right, according to the letter of the law I may not be in possession of any Cuban products anywhere in the world. I've been forced to be a criminal to enjoy that fine Cuban cigar. This really irks me!

Why do we still, after all these years have said embargo? I have several theories (some crazier than others): 

1. The politicians are afraid to alienate a large voting block of Cuban refugees living in Miami.

2. Our government is still pissed off about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

3. Cuba had something to do with the assassination of J.F.K.

4. Our government has a grudge against Fidel Castro.

5. We want the Cuban people to suffer.

6. The politicians want to keep all the fine Cuban cigars for themselves.

The embargo makes no sense. It hasn't made any sense for decades. More on this subject in the future!