Who Is Che?

You've seen the (in)famous photograph everywhere - during the 2008 presidential campaign, an artist even likened President Obama's image to that of Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Some exalt him as a hero, a champion of the rights of the poor, a revolutionary. Others condemn him for his political views; he was a strong Marxist, after all. But, love him or hate him, not everyone knows who Che truly was.

I was inspired to read Che's Motorcycle Diaries during my recent backpacking trip through South America. I wanted to get inside the mind of someone who had traveled through the very parts of the world that I was experiencing. I found his writing to be incredible relateable, and that, 50 years later, much of what he wrote still held true.

Ernesto was a young medical student in 1950 when he set across his first journey across South America, solo, on a motorcycle, for 2,800 miles across South America. Along his journey, he bore witness to the internal conflict that still exists to this very day among South American indigenous cultures (many of whom do not speak Spanish), and the collection of European-indigenous hybrid peoples. Today, and in the 1950s when he first traveled, there is immense poverty, especially in the countryside. Seeing these things made "Che" (a friendly term Argentenians call one another) develop an anti-capitalist worldview.

Concluding his travels across South America, he came to view the continent as one race, sharing a common Latino heritage, with the goal of uniting South America through a continent-wide liberation strategy. He blamed capitalism for the lack of access to medicine and basic needs, and began contemplating the fact that serving just the medical needs of this community might not be enough - and so he began to enter the realm of armed struggle and military strategy.

He joined the Cuban revolutionary movement, and solidified his anti-US backed government stance after meeting Fidel Castro. After meeting both Fidel and his brother, Raul, he became convinced that Fidel's 26th of July movement to liberate Cuba was the cause he had been searching for.

It's hard to summarize the rest of the political work that Guevara took part in, but he traveled voraciously, to mostly impoverished countries, having a soft spot for the Congo in Africa, as well as Bolivia, where he was finally captured and executed. I feel that I'm doing him a huge disservice by skimming over his life's work, but I wanted to lay out some background before I stated that, after reading Guevara's own words through The Motorcycle Diaries, having trodden in many of the places he traveled to, and having witnessed many of the same horrific living and working conditions he witnessed, I respect the man immensely.

He was one hell of a traveler. He wanted to make the world a better place. Even though our political views vary greatly, his heart was enormous, and he truly believed that he could make a mark on the world for the better. His motivations, unlike those of many other political figures of his time, were truly and wholeheartedly good. Perhaps Marxism wasn't the answer, or perhaps it was? We will never really know. But he did bring the plight of much of South America into the world's scope of view. I admire him for his passion. For his ability to get off his ass and make a difference, and do something instead of nothing.

Many people wear shirts with Guevara's iconic face (a candid shot taken by Alberto Korda, during a memorial service in 1960), and I wonder if they know about the man behind the picture. About his struggles for human rights, about his political views, about his journeys and the travels that moved him to have the ideals that he had. He's much more incredible of a person than an incredibly hipster looking tshirt. Pictured: The original shot taken in 1960.

Although I'm not a Marxist or a Communist (probably the farthest thing from it, I'm a Libertarian), I still have more respect for this man than many of our modern day "political activitists" who have to speak in a politically correct manner, deal with political donations, and swear they didn't have sexual relations with that woman. Che was not perfect, but he wore his heart on his sleeve. He believed in something and acted on it. And for that passion, I respect and admire him.