#119 - Lesson from Che

Versions of history, pick your battles, and malleable

Che Guevara divided opinions.

To millions he was the devil. A violent communist.

And to millions a saint. A shining light of libration.

There is truth in both. But whatever you believe there’s much to be learnt from his story.

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Versions of History

History is subjective.

We’re it’s compiled of facts and figures. But it’s not.

It’s made up of stories.

Of the recollection of individuals. Of games of Chinese Whispers that create the giants we read about today.

You see that with Che.

To some he’s akin to a God. Leading the charge against yankee imperialism. A true martyr.

To others he’s evil. A bloodthirsty Marxist threatening all that’s good in the world. A danger to society.

It’s a matter of perspective. The Cuban peasant and the American politician have a different vantage point.

Which view will hold in the distance future? I suspect it’s too early to tell.

History is written by the winners. And more importantly by someone. That’s what we forget. It’s not the object truth we think it is.

I grew up in the UK. We’re taught, for years, of the terrible deeds of Germany in the 20th century. How the UK rode in as the white knight. Our finest hour.

But what of our atrocities? The massacres in India? Or those across the rest of the great empire?

They had no air time at all.

There’s two sides to every story. The world is far more complex and nuanced than we think.

Next time you’re enraged about something or someone, pause. Perhaps there’s two sides to this story too. Just maybe it’s a little more complicated than it appears.

Pick your Battles

Che’s stardom came from a leading role in the Cuban Revolution.

It started off a shambles. Led by a 30 year old Fidel Castro the rebels landed in Cuba in 1956, after months of training in Mexico. But the landing came late, and the army was waiting.

Of the 82 rebels who sailed just 19 made it through the first two weeks. 19 men hungry, hopelessly undersupplied, and lost from each other.

But they persisted.

And over the next two years the revolution grew.

Until, just two years on, they overthrew the government. The movement carried by the 19 men swept up a country of 7 million people.

But Che was not done.

After a few years of administrating he was off to find the next frontier. The next couple of years saw him throw himself into foreign revolutions.

He failed spectacularly. First in the jungles of the Congo and then Bolivia, the latter leading to his early grave.

Why did the Cuban revolution succeed whilst the others failed?

The conditions were right. The country was bristling for change. It was ready to ignite. Also, they had the Fidel. The charismatic leader who could create that new future, or so people believed.

In the Congo the country was in turmoil but completely divided. The rifts were everywhere and irreparably deep.

Bolivia, on the other hand, didn’t want a violent revolution. The conditions weren’t right.

For Che success bred hubris. Anything was possible in his eyes. But the conditions weren’t as he thought.

Aged just 39 he paid with his life.

Che & Fidel

Malleable

He probably wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. He wouldn’t be the martyr he is today.

Which brings us to the revolution itself. Here too we can learn.

What if Ernesto “Che” Guevara, a middle class Argentinian, had not meet Fidel Castro?

Would Fidel have been successful? Would Cuba have become a Communist state? I suspect not to both.

Che was a driving force. And whether you believe in his views it’s proof the future is malleable.

We all change the world in our own little way.

Imagine you compliment a colleague instead of critisising them. You might change their day. They go home and have a whole different interaction with their family in turn.

Comments can change peoples lives.

And that’s just one moment. What could you do in a whole day? Or a week, month, and year?

The question, therefore, is not whether you will change the world. But how you’re going to change it.

Will you leave it a kinder, more compassionate planet? Or angrier and full of hate?

It’s up to you. The future really is more malleable than you think.

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My Week in Books📚

Che Guevara by Jon Lee Anderson

A joy to read. I knew nothing about Che and the period. An extreme character.

Find your 9others by Katie Lewis & Matthew Stafford

A wonderful book. The first of many books, I’m sure, by Matt. He and Katie have picked up a lot of wisdom over the years, running 9others ,and it comes through here.

Dodgy choice of contributors👇, but don’t hold that against them.

Book recommendations welcome & encouraged. Just hit reply! 🙏

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Unplugged 🌳📵

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A Final Thought 💡

“The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.”

- Che Guevara

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