Since 1959, Cuba has been ruled by an authoritarian, communist regime that has denied the Cuban people liberty and prosperity. Cubans are denied freedom of speech, religious freedom, democratic elections, and more. The Cuban government sees those things as threats to their rule. Their concern is that if the Cuban people are allowed to speak freely, they may say less-than-positive things about the regime. They may even call for regime change. If religious freedom is allowed, religious institutions might compete with the government for the hearts and minds of the Cuban people. Religious institutions could also spread and promote thought crime. If the Cuban people are allowed to vote in democratic elections, they may vote the communist regime out of office.

Cuba also suffers from severe, chronic shortages of food, medicine, and other basic necessities, which are not caused by the American trade embargo against Cuba, as it does not prohibit American exports of food, medicine, and other basic necessities to Cuba. Cubans wait hours in long lines to buy insufficient groceries from a limited selection of foodstuff, only to go hungry in-between grocery store trips. The Cuban economy has failed to provide for the basic needs of the Cuban people; the Cuban government has failed to promote prosperity on the island.

The communist, Cuban regime believes that their ideology is absolutely true and that they are serving and upholding justice and morality by denying the Cuban people liberty and prosperity. They believe that disagreement with their ideology is a denial of truth and that things like freedom of speech, religious freedom, democratic elections, and prosperity are unjust and immoral. In their eyes, people who advocate for those things are therefore advocating for an unjust and immoral world. In their eyes, those people are evil and must be destroyed.

The regime sees themselves as defenders of good and slayers of evil. Their belief is presuppositional, just as religious beliefs are presuppositional to the religious. The regime oppresses the Cuban people just as religion too often oppresses humanity. The spirit of 1989, when most communist regimes fell, is in the air in Cuba.

The Cuban people are protesting because of their authoritarian government and lack of human rights and democratic elections. They are protesting because of the severe, chronic shortages of food, medicine, and other basic necessities. They are protesting because they are being denied liberty and prosperity, which are incompatible with authoritarianism.

The time is now.

Atheists for Liberty stands with the Cuban people in their fight for liberty and prosperity.