Yesterday, the Cuban flag was raised over its embassy in Washington for the first time in more than 50 years.

I will come back to the bigger issues at play in Washington tomorrow, but it is worth pausing for a moment to note that yesterday, the Cuban flag was raised over its embassy in Washington for the first time in more than 50 years. In a few weeks, it appears that the US flag will be raised over the US Embassy in Cuba in return. All this is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but the principle at play in differing strategies in how we might help bring liberty to people in any part of the world is not.

Some people want to continue to isolate the Cuban government, and I do too…but I think the best way to do so is by isolating the government from its people. Our Founding Fathers believed passionately that a bias toward liberty and independence were principles imbedded in every individual and that it was government that too often stole these things from citizens around the world and across the ages. They believed democracy could not be planted, but people could be pushed toward that end when they had the ability and resources. 

In contrast to what President Reagan encouraged in the 1980s against the Soviet Union, we’ve tried a process of isolation that hasn’t worked for over 50 years, and I think it’s something worth changing. 

For this reason, I introduced a bill in February with Congressman Jim McGovern, the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, and it would eliminate travel restrictions to Cuba. Consequently, I think it would help drive change in the country. There are many other oppressive regimes around the world – North Korea, Syria, and Iran to list a few – yet the only country that Americans are prohibited from visiting is Cuba. Without a compelling threat to national security, I believe Americans have a constitutional right to free travel, and this personal liberty for me is what this larger debate on Cuba is all about.