Scott Herrick speech given in Miami, Florida in 1963 I am going to Cuba in an attempt to better understand the Cuban people and the radical revolution that has so altered their lives. In referring to the Cuban people, I quite naturally include those Cubans who, for various reasons, have left Cuba and now live on foreign soil. I do not believe either group can be properly understood until meaningful contacts have been made with both. I am traveling to Cuba for this purpose and, if admitted, I will visit the country as a friendly observer much as I have visited Miami when I wished to contact members of the Cuban exile community there. I believe this to be my right. I am aware that in taking this trip I am acting against the wishes of my government and this saddens me. I am grieved that my government feels it must erect artificial barriers between its citizens and other peoples, and I am particularly disturbed when I realize that these barriers isolate me and my fellow Americans from approximately one quarter of the human race. That is to say, one out of every four persons on this planed is now “off limits” to Americans. I cannot accept these restrictions, for to my mind, they violate a basic human right – the right to communicate openly with all members of the human family. This right is an absolute necessity if we are ever to develop the understanding which is fundamental to the establishment of a lasting peace. The concept of a world community and the family of man is not foreign to Americans, for Benjamin Franklin said that a man should be able to put his foot on any soil and say: “this is my country”. Such identification is impossible if travel bans are maintained. Travel bans are essentially bans on humanity. I do not see anyone as my enemy, therefore, I cannot recognize the right of my government to make enemies in my name or tell me who is to be my enemy. Yet this is precisely what my government is doing and it’s by no means the exception. In traveling to Cuba I am not doing anything new or courageous. I am simply trying to be part of the human family that I was born into. I am trying to understand and be understood. Quite naturally, it is my intention to return to my country after this visit. If the United States Government chooses to penalize me for my trip, I will defend my position as best I can for I believe my cause to be right and just.