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| A Boy and his Dad |
April 04, 2000 |
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Dear Friends,
We`ve all watched the news stories from Miami over the last few months about Elian Gonzales. And this week it all seems to be coming to a climax. I want to let you know how I feel.
I understand the passion this issue stirs because it brings into conflict two of our most heart-felt values...family and freedom.
His mother risked her life, and then lost it, to give her son the gift of growing up in freedom in America. Elian was left to face the dark alone, surrounded by the vast, silent ocean, clinging to an innertube...waiting.
For many, Elian isn`t just a little boy who survived tragedy...he is a symbol of Cuba`s future...a little boy who can grow up in liberty and prepare himself for the day that Castro`s grip on power is finally broken. Elian will be part of the freedom generation that will rebuild Cuba some day. That`s why crowds swarm around the house where Elian stays now, and why when he is going to school he needs protection from the many hands that would simply touch him...Elian is Cuba`s future. To send him back now is like giving up on freedom for Cuba.
When I see the photos of Elian, I see a little boy who deserves to be more than a symbol of other people`s dreams and disappointments. This is a little boy who will never feel again his mother`s arms around him or hear her soothing words when he gets hurt. A little boy who has to be gently reminded by a loving cousin that his mother is not looking for him in Miami somewhere. Are we prepared to insist, too, that he spend the rest of his boyhood not feeling the touch of his father`s hand, or the guidance that boys naturally seek from their Dads?
When I watch my boy, the same age as Elian, playing with his Dad, I can`t imagine that there is any political cause worth keeping any little boy who has lost his mother from being with his Dad. So, I hope the television crews, the crowds, the political opportunists and all the others who have swarmed over this event will step back and let Elian Gonzales have his life back...and let him go home to his Dad as soon as possible.
Wish you were here,
Heather |
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