Mental Distortion

It was reported in today’s Times that the New York Philharmonic will be forced to cancel its October tour of Cuba that was originally scheduled for the end of this month. While it’s perfectly legal for musicians to travel to the communist nation, the donors of that trip, who would potentially spend lavishly while on the tour, are legally barred for entering the country. I guess this means musicians don’t make enough money to spend lavishly.

The cancellation was an embarrassment and something of a setback in the New York Philharmonic’s effort to cast itself as the nation’s flagship traveling orchestra. It made headlines with a trip to Pyongyang, North Korea, nearly two years ago (no United States government permission for patrons was required) and leaves on Sunday for an Asian tour that will take in another Communist nation, Vietnam.

This exposes how arbitrary the rules are governing American citizens’ rights to travel to Cuba,” Julia E. Sweig, an expert on Cuba at the Council on Foreign Relations, said of the Treasury Department’s position. “If you have a family member there, you can go. If you play an instrument or sport, you can go. But if you’re a philanthropist who wants to support arts in Cuba, you can’t?

Let me get this straight. The State Department requires no approval of patrons to accompany the New York Philharmonic on a tour of North Korea, a country that is openly developing nuclear weapons and one that would potentially divert the spending of those wealthy patrons to the development of the country’s nuclear program. But patrons must obtain permission from the State Department when traveling to Cuba, a country that poses no threat to the United States (anymore) except for ideologues that can’t let go of an outdated fear and grudge against an aging Cold War warrior who won’t be around much longer. I know I’m stretching things just a little bit, but the notion that Cuba is a bigger threat to the United States than North Korea is a joke. The restrictions, if there has to be any, should instead be reversed.

(Via New York Times.)