The Cuban priest, Alberto Reyes Pías, shared the 172nd edition of his weekly column "I've Been Thinking" on Facebook this Friday. In this installment, he draws on the insights of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer to shed light on how the regime has persuaded capable individuals to engage in repression without questioning the morality of their actions.
Reyes, who serves as a parish priest in Esmeralda, Camagüey, bases his arguments on a distinction Bonhoeffer made while imprisoned during World War II: the difference between evil and what the theologian termed "stupidity." This concept does not imply a lack of intelligence but rather a moral surrender of independent thought.
Blind Obedience and Its Impact
"A stupid person is not someone lacking intelligence, but someone who has stopped thinking for themselves, unquestioningly adopting the ideas of a reference group, parroting its slogans, and allowing an authority to think on their behalf," Reyes writes, echoing Bonhoeffer.
The priest applies this diagnosis directly to Cuba. The slogans that Cubans have chanted for decades—such as "Patria o muerte," "Socialismo o muerte," "Pin, pon, fuera, abajo la gusanera," and "El que no salte es yanqui"—are manifestations of this blind obedience instilled by power.
The Psychological Roots of Repression
"That's why we've spent years shouting these slogans, because that shout granted us the identity of the group in power," the priest observes. He also points to the repudiation acts and aggressions by the Rapid Response Brigades as expressions of this logic: "someone" declared that anyone who thinks differently is an enemy.
According to Reyes, those who repress, harass, interrogate, threaten, and denounce today do not necessarily do so out of malice but because they have surrendered their conscience to an authority. "They are incapable of thinking for themselves, and they are terrified of changing their opinion or saying something their group won't applaud," he notes.
Resisting Groupthink Through Courage
This is why, the priest argues, providing more information is insufficient for those who have abandoned independent thought: "Evil can be fought, exposed, unmasked, but the stupid cannot be convinced with facts, nor can you appeal to their reason, because they no longer have reason of their own."
Reyes concludes his reflection with a call for individual courage, following Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis in 1945 at the age of 39: "True resistance to stupidity begins with reclaiming the ability to think and to say 'no' when our conscience tells us something is unjust." He adds his own conclusion: "Stupidity isn't cured with information; it's cured with courage."
This reflection is part of a series of August columns in which Reyes has intensified his criticism. In his previous reflection, he urged the people to resist through free expression and everyday dissent.
A week before, his column was directly addressed to military personnel, police officers, and State Security agents, warning them that "a people cannot be chained forever."
In earlier months, the parish priest identified fear as the regime's true support and argued that the Cuban crisis is not only economic but fundamentally political.
Understanding the Cuban Repression Phenomenon
What does Alberto Reyes believe is the root cause of repression in Cuba?
Reyes believes that the root cause of repression in Cuba is not necessarily malice, but a surrender of independent thought, where individuals follow authority unquestioningly.
How does Reyes suggest combating the "stupidity" he describes?
Reyes suggests that combating this form of "stupidity" requires courage to reclaim one's ability to think independently and resist unjust norms, rather than simply providing more information.
What historical figure does Reyes draw from to support his argument?
Reyes draws inspiration from German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who distinguished between evil and "stupidity" and was executed by the Nazis in 1945.