On the eve of Haiti's 200th year Celebration of Independence, I sat on my parent's living room floor listening to my father talk about Haitian politics. Although our home is miles away from Haiti in the New York City borough of Queens, his face on that day was masked with urgent discontent as he began to outline the festivities planned for the momentous occasion. There was also a level of cynicism in his voice as he made his way closer to where I sat and reclined in a nearby chair.