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| THE LEGACY OF CHE GUEVARA November 20, 1997 |
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Why should Che be the subject of so much attention now? Is it possible that Che represents something more than the era in which he died? Considering the manner in which he died, how will history treat Che relative to other guerrilla leaders? Will the mass iconization of Che fuel even more anti-American sentiments abroad, as well as anti-government sentiments among America's "lost generation X-ers"? What role did the CIA play in the death of Che? David Miller of Higland Park, IL, asks: Considering the manner in which he died, how will history treat Che relative to other guerrilla leaders, like Washington, Chairman Mao and Ho Chi Minh?
Mr. Jon Lee Anderson, author of "Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life," responds:
Unlike the "revolutionary" leaders mentioned by Mr. Miller, Che was not a politician. He was first and foremost a visionary who was propelled by his radical concept of political and social change which transcended national boundaries. Unlike these other leaders, he gave up all the trappings of privilege and power [in Cuba] in order to return to the revolutionary battlefield and ultimately, to die. He didn't, strictly speaking, have to, and if he had been more impelled by the desire to exercise power, or the innate sense of pragmatism that seems to come with great politicians, he wouldn't have.
I think history will always tend to romanticize Che, especially because of the circumstances of his death. There was 'glory' in the ingloriousness of his end, both in the tenacious way he persisted in his Bolivian guerrilla campaign, despite its increasingly obvious futility, and finally, in the way he met death face-on after his capture. History loves Quixotes.
Will the mass iconization of Che fuel even more anti-American sentiments abroad, as well as anti-government sentiments among America's "lost generation X-ers"?
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