Yo soy un hombre sincero

The title of this post is the title of a short poem written by Cuban poet and hero José Martí. The first two lines of the first stanza translate in English to: “I am an honest man, From where the palm trees grow.” So poignant is this line. Many have come from the land of the palms claiming to speak with sincerity and only later to be found to be swollen with corruption through power.

In the folds of modern history, there have been numerous revolutions by so called sincere leaders who lead armies and guerillas against the purported tyrannical governments of their day. Of all these leaders, only one proved sincere, and he was not from the land of the palms, but of the land of the tidewater plantations.

Oliver Cromwell in the 1600’s lead an army and overthrew the monarchy in England and Scotland with the intent on seeking liberty and religious freedom. He executed the King and instead of keeping his promise, he became a brutal dictator and would not give up power until his death.

Napoleon Bonaparte led the French Revolution against the tyranny of monarchs and aristocracy with the intent on establishing a government by the people, similar to the republican experiment in America. In the end, he became a dictator and remained in power until his banishment from France.

The same fate befell those who followed Lenin and Mao. Their premise was to bring freedom to the serfs, the peasants, and the common people. The succeeded and also established themselves as vicious dictators.

Lastly you have Fidel Castro. Who misled everyone in the Cuban Revolution that their cause was to eliminate the Dictator Batista and re-establish Cuban Democracy as set forth in the Cuban Constitution. As with those who preceded him, he became the law and a tyrannical dictator who continues to repress the people today.

There is one exception in nearly 500 years of history. That man was His Excellency, George Washington. As commander in chief of the Revolutionary Army, he was given full and absolute power by Congress. At the end of the war, he did what no one else had done before or ever since, he voluntarily relinquished his power by surrendering his sword and his commission. At this point in American history, he had the power and support to have set himself up as a dictator as others have done throughout history. But this man chose the most difficult option: relinquishing power. Likewise, after serving as the first President of the United States, after two terms, he made the decision not to run for a third term (remember, there were no term limits in those days). Again, the most popular man, and perhaps the richest man of the United States in his day had the wherewithal to relinquish power voluntarily and have us the example within which to follow in the early days of the American Republic.

In sum, power corrupts men. But only a real man is one who has the courage to relinquish power. Today in our Republic can we think of any man or woman in power (not impeded by term limits) who would voluntarily give up their power after 8 or 12 years of service? It would seem that once these folks get elected, their sole ambition is to stay elected as long as possible. Everyone is more interested with their own self interests rather than those of the Republic.

In any event, I close off this post with the first four stanzas of José Martí’s wonderful poem.

Ciao Infidels and stay dry.


Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crece la palma,
Y antes de morirme quiero
Echar mis versos del alma.

Yo vengo de todas partes,
Y hacia todas partes voy:
Arte soy entre las artes,
En los montes, monte soy.

Yo sé los nombres extraños
De las yerbas y las flores,
Y de mortales engaños,
Y de sublimes dolores.

Yo he visto en la noche oscura
Llover sobre mi cabeza
Los rayos de lumbre pura
De la divina belleza.