I WRITE NOT as a public figure but primarily as a concerned citizen of this, my adopted country. Let me clearly state that I am staunchly anti-communist. I would not support any system of government that infringes on the rights of people, especially the right to freedom of expression. That is why I feel compelled to express my dismay at the expulsion of Peggi McKinley from the film board simply for stating an opinion.
As an American, I am frightened to see one of our most basic liberties being trampled on in the march for political gain. As a Cuban American, I am embarrassed that non-Cubans might think that we are all narrow of mind. I cannot imagine how we could explain to the people of Cuba, who have suffered so much oppression, that the very freedoms that they so desperately desire and deserve are being annihilated in their name.
We who love the cultural and ethnic diversity of Greater Miami must try to close the rifts being created by political muscle between our communities. We must reach out to each other and breed tolerance. At the very least, we should defend each other's right to voice an opinion without fear of reprisal, whatever that opinion might be. It is one of the founding and most basic premises of this country, and it is the reason why my father brought me here at age 2. He wanted me to be raised ``in freedom.'' He defended this freedom and paid with his life. I feel that it is my duty to keep safe those things that he fought so hard to offer me.
I understand the hardships that we from Cuba have experienced as a nation, but for this same reason we must defend everyone's freedom, even if it means personal pain. We cannot allow intolerance to grow. We want a Miami that is beautiful and free for everyone who lives here.
Gloria Estefan an internationally known singer, lives in Miami Beach.
© 1997 The Miami Herald.