Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Boy belongs with dad

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2000 | 9:38 a.m.

Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

Let's hear it for family values.

It is certainly not a new concept in these screwy times of Alice in Wonderland politics, but the continued debasement for political gain of what had always been a bedrock of American life is getting more than a bit frustrating. I talk of family values and the way the political rhetoric has twisted and turned what has been the strength of American family life into some superficial 30-second sound bite designed to separate Americans from one another solely for political advantage.

If that is too confusing let's talk specifically about the plight of a little 6-year-old boy named Elian Gonzalez. There are few people, if any, who aren't aware of Elian's immigration to the United States via sunken ship from his home in Cuba. The tragic circumstances surrounding his entry to our country are the stuff from which movies are made, and the resulting actions by government agencies, political activists and, now, the politicians are the stuff from which grade B soap operas spring forth.

What we have unfortunately forgotten in all of this, or should I say who, is little Elian, who has become a football in a major league game of high stakes politics of the lowest kind. His future has been tossed around as much as -- or more than -- the fateful boat which sank with his mother on board while she tried to reach the shores of the United States and the freedom for which it stands.

It is hard to tell anymore where Elian's rights begin and those of the governments involved in this tug of human war end. The landscape has been so muddied by the rhetorical outpouring that it is too easy to lose sight of what is the right thing to do. When that happens, it is sometimes best to step back and ask ourselves a simple question, "What would I want done if it was happening to me?"

The answer, of course, depends upon who the "I" is. If it is young Elian, the answer might seem to have more to do with the outpouring of love, attention and Disney World rides that can be crammed into a short visit in this wonderful country of ours. Compared to Cuba -- the poverty, the lack of individual freedom and the absence of Disney World -- the United States is a great place to live, so who would want to leave? Unless, of course, you missed the father you love.

And if you are Elian's father, who is still in Castro's Cuba, unable, we believe, to talk as freely as he might in other circumstances, the answer might still be that a son's place, especially a young person who has suffered such a tragic loss, is with the father he loves, regardless of where they might live. He would argue that every day in the United States our court and juvenile systems are returning children to parents who live in far less than desirable circumstances, by any standard, simply because we believe that the bonds of love out-trump environment any day.

Of course, if you belong to a very emotional Cuban American community which wakes every morning finding ways to hate Fidel Castro -- not unjustifiably, I might add -- the mere thought of shipping young Elian home to the dictator's clutches is unthinkable.

And if you are a politician like Congressman Dan Burton, who is interested in patronizing that significant voting block in Florida and New Jersey, the answer has less to do with Elian than it does the thought of all those votes come the next election. Just what Burton's committee has to do with Elian's plight is beyond me. If anything, Burton's abuse of the subpoena power to curry political favor smacks of petty politics at its worst and should have been condemned at all levels.

So where does all that leave this country and its very emotional concern over the future of Elian Gonzalez? Frankly, not any closer to a good answer because no one really wants to send him back to a life that we believe will be less free and, certainly, less fun than growing up here.

That being the case, we must revert back to what the United States says it is all about. If we are a country that exalts family over all else, then it is clear that the young man belongs with his father, wherever his dad chooses to live. If that means sending him back to Cuba, that is what must be. Would it be better if his father came to the United States to get Elian? Of course. That way we might know for sure what to do.

In the absence of that easy way out, though, the INS is right and I believe any court hearing on this matter will reach the same conclusion. Young people belong with their parents as long as they are loved and properly cared for.

Who knows? This may all work out for the best. Young Elian, having been exposed to the freedom and good life of the United States, can go back to Cuba and share what he has learned. A whole new generation of Cubans can grow up yearning to be free as a result. Life's vagaries predict that Castro will not continue for too much longer as the anachronistic communist dictator. When the transition does come, young Elian's experiences may help show the rest of Cuba the way. Or, we can short-circuit the whole thing, get past the petty politics, and recognize Cuba in an effort to normalize relations and show them the way in advance of Castro's departure. But that probably won't happen because such an action takes resolve and, so far, all that we have proved is that we can't even manage the case of a 6-year-old without going all jelly-like.

Give the boy to his father, wish him luck and change the world so we don't have to go through this all over again.