Freedom and Hope (Updated)

I'm sure you all noticed the changes I've made to the site over the weekend. Let me explain the motivation behind them.

I've wanted to come up with some type of banner or header for a while, but being a little creatively challenged, I haven't been able to think of anything. The other day at work I read Songuacassal's post on Cuban-American Pundits about the Freedom Tower. Driving home, it smacked me in the head: I'll put the Freedom Tower up in the header!

The symbolism is hard to miss. The Freedom Tower is the Ellis Island of Miami (the 26th Parallel). It's even been compared to the Statue of Liberty. Regardless of which comparison one chooses, one thing is clear. It represents freedom and hope for so many Cuban-Americans who were processed in that building back in the 60's. Like a sentinel, it stands guard at Biscayne and 6th, overlooking Biscayne Bay like a beacon of freedom and hope.

The tower represents freedom for those who risked all to make the journey to this great country of ours. It represents all the sacrifices that Cubans have made througout the years, and still make to this day.

The tower also represents the hopes of freedom for those still in Cuba languishing under castro's rule. Since the main focus of this blog has been to highlight the injustices of the castro regime and to promote change in Cuba, what better way to show the blogworld the building that opened the doors to so many of us and our families?

Regardless of what happens to, around, or behind the tower in the future, one thing will never change: what the Freedom Tower proudly stands for.

I hope you like the changes.

UPDATE 7/25 9:00 AM: In my half-asleep state when I wrote this post last night, I forgot to thank Songuacassal for the inspiration behind the banner, and for his help in figuring out where to place the HTML code in my blog template. Gracias blog-hermano!