Goodbye Hugo

The death of Hugo Chavez has really raised some issues here in the U.S. While I don't agree with much of his rhetoric about my country, I do have some sympathy for his views.
The time has come, quite simply, for the U.S. to face up to its flaws, both past and present. In the past we have done terrible things, and even today we do not seem to recognize that the rest of the world has its own point of view and its own rights. Marco Rubio calls Chavez rule a disaster, but it certainly was not for the desperately poor of his own country and even ours who got discounted heating oil from him. Has Rubio done as much to help the needy?
How can we expect other people to support us if we treat them so? Or if we support cruel, evil leaders and oppose those who improve their peoples' lives? Can we call their anti-americanism evil under those circumstances?
I know it can be a difficult balancing act, preserving global human rights and our own interests and sometimes there is no easy answer and the necessary answer can be unpleasant, but surely some of the time we can do the right thing, even if it smarts a little.
The time has come.