Page 3631 - 1970S

• In the smaller eastern Carib–
bean islands which are Associated
States of Britain , Cuba has estab–
lis hed a number of " Friendship.
Societies" as well as giving encour–
agement to local Marxist elements
to work through established parties
to gain power. Leftist influence is
growing in Dominica and St. Vin–
cent. Dominica in pa rticular has
been plagued by a band of tourist–
hating radicals who a re still holding
out in the hills.
• Even the mode rate government
of Lynden O. Pindling in the Baba–
mas has shown some sympathy to
the Cubans beca use of Castro's s up–
port of black Jiberalion movements
in Africa.
• On every island of the Carib–
bean. there is a radical movement of
some kind.
The pattern lha t seems lo be
emerging is lha t of a Hava na-pre–
scripted Cuba-J amaica-Guyana axis
of ha rdline Ma rxist states exerting
slrong left-wing inftuence over the ir
sma lle r counterpa rts throughout the
arca. There is a twofold significance
to this emerging development. Fi rst.
American economic stakes in the re–
gion a re high: U.S. fi rms have be–
tween $4 to $6 billion inves ted in
the Caribbean; thousands of Ameri–
cans own property in the area;
many more thousands visit the re–
gion as touri sts. More importantly.
the strategic stakes a re high: Pan–
ama's dicta tor General Oma r Ter–
rijos has very close tics with Cuba,
and some America n observers fear
that he will move even farther lO the
left a fte r he concludes a new Pan–
ama Canal trcaty with the United
States (see article bcginning on page
6). The prospect then arises that
with the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico
region almost enclosed by sta tes
hostile to lhe United States. the
Kremlin could move in lo establish
its own bases in the area- right al
America 's underbclly. O
NOTICE TO READERS
Due to f1nancial and production con–
siderations, we w111 publish combined
issues of the Plain Truth tor Augusl/
September and October / November.
You·u still get the same vitally impor–
tan! Plain Truth content to which
you 've become accustomed. Be sure
to read each timely article!
40
INBRIEF
THOUGHTSON THE
NIXON INTERVIEW
by Stanley R. Rader
The author accompanies Plain
Truth Editor-in-Chief Herbert
W Armstrong on his frequent
visits with heads of state and
other leading international
dignitaries.
For severa! weeks now, tormer
President Nixon has attempted
to justify not only his conduct
during the Watergate cover-up,
but also such alleged abuses ot
presidential power as covert war
against political opponents and
anti-Vietnam War protesters, se–
cret operations against Daniel
Ellsberg and others, and the so–
called "White House enemies
list." In addition, he has tried to
rationalize his concept of unlim–
ited presidential power as long as
the President believes he is serv–
ing the national interest.
Comments trom citizens across
the United States and throughout
the world in reaction to the tirst
Nixon-David Frost interview, in
which hemadethecomments, have
been mixed. lt does appear that
more people were concerned, al–
most three years atter Mr. Nixon's
resignation trom office, with the tact
that tor more than two years he had
repeatedly lied in his addresses to
the American people.
The other day 1was reading one
ot my favorite authors, the re–
nowned novelist and short-story
writer Somerset Maugham. In a
book entitled The Summing Up,
written sorne two decades betore
his death, he said: "At first sight it
is curious that our own offenses
should seem to us so much less
heinous than the offenses ot
others. 1 suppose the reason is
that we know all the circum-
stances that have occasioned
them and so manage to excuse in
our5elves what we cannot excuse
in others. We turn our attention
away from our own defects and
when we are torced by untoward
events to consider them find it
easy to condone them. For all 1
know we are right to do this; they
are part of us and we must accept
the good and the bad in ourselves
together. But when we come to
judge others it is not by ourselves
as we really are that we judge
them, but by an image that we
have formed of ourselves trom
which we have left out everything
that offends our vanity or would
discredit us in the eyes of the
world.
" To take a trivial instance: how
scornful we are when we catch
someone out telling a lie; but who
can say that he had never told not
one. but a hundred? We are
shocked when we discover that
great men were weak and petty.
dishonest or seltish, sexually
vicious. vain or intemperate; and
many people think it disgracetul to
disclose to the public its heroes'
tailings. .There is not much to
choose between men. They are all
a hodgepodge of greatness and
littleness, of virtue and vice, ot no–
bility and baseness. Sorne have
more strength ot character, or
more opportunity, and so in one
direction or another give their in–
stincts freer play. but potentially
they are the same. For my part 1
do not think 1am any better or any
worse than most people, but 1
know that if 1set down every ac–
tion in my lite and every thought
that has crossed my mind. the
world would consider me a mon–
ster ot depravity.''
The PLAIN TRUTH July 1977