"Freedom and Elian"

The die is cast for Elian. He will soon be back in Cuba and will spend the next few years in Castro’s Cuba. More’s the shame. Having tasted freedom and then have it snatched away. Like being blind and seeing for a short time then having it taken away.

He is being held in the lap of luxury at American taxpayer’s expense, “protected” from those who cared for him when he had no other. But Cuban officials have free access to Elian. The die is cast, the story is over

This story has many elements that go beyond a “little boy” and this “father” the “rule of law”. That story will be written over the years, but I can see a little lesson in being an American and it has been taught by the Cuban community in Miami and by Elian’s relatives.

They currently are the “heavies” in the today’s version of the story. The relatives wouldn't “cooperate”, wouldn’t “negotiate in good faith”, they “wouldn’t agree to anything”, they kept “moving the goal post”, they wouldn’t abide by the “rule of law” and on an on.

The Cuban community in Miami and the relatives are characterized at “those crazies”. They are driven by a hate of Castro. They have their own “Cuban” policy. Their problem is that they did not have friends in high places. They did not have the “insider” lawyer Greg Craig. They did not have Reno and Clinton acting to get them the help they needed. A Cuban citizen got all the help, got all the support and all the friends in high that made a difference. Those tax paying, hard working American taxpayers who took in a family member and gave him love when he needed it most were cut off from the “power and might” of the federal government.

Maybe they come to their opinion of Castro rightly. But we have a long history of vilifying those that have hard and strong opinions on the value of freedom and that continues today.

The “sophisticates” of the revolution in Virginia were very hard on those “crazies” up in Boston who attacked that boat and threw the tea the tea overboard. Looking back aren’t you glad those at the Boston Tea Party didn’t abide by the “rule of law? Patrick Henry has gone off the charts with his “Give me liberty or give me death”. Those patriots in Philadelphia very definitely did not buckle under to the “rule of law”. They too were vilified at the time by some.

For some reason the people who love freedom and act on that belief are vilified. We have two poles in political thought… there is a “far” right and there very definitely is a “far” left.

But if you examine our media the characterization of the far right is with words of derision. The phrase “whacko right” rolls very easy of the tongue of Larry King. In our country there are many that promote and look longingly at a government that resembles Castro’s rather than ours. It is very clear that Castro has some strong support high up in our government. But are these people characterized by derogatory language? No. Nice words like “Progressive” are used.

Well, those “whackos” and those “crazies” in Miami hold view closer to the founding of our country but there are vilified, but I honor them. The “far” left works under the media scrutiny and in fact have the support. They are never characterized as “nuts”, “crazies” or “Whackos” as they work to undermine our freedoms in the name of government help.

As Elian and his father enjoy the good life of a plantation in Virginia, the family that provided love and a home when Elian had none will go back to that very modest small home in little Havana. They go back to work to pay taxes so Cuban citizens enjoy the fruits of our country.

But they have something that Elian and his father will never have; Freedom. More importantly they have a passion for freedom.

As we revel in the rule of law and the seemingly sweet honey of “government” protection and benefits. We will soon learn that we will be mired down and held back by that thick goo of government.

My hat goes off to another generation of freedom fighters… the Cubans in Miami and Lazaro and Marisleysis. The advantage they have is that they know first hand the tyranny of a dictator, the killings, the thought and speech control. It is real to them, a distant memory or just stories from history book to us. Thanks for reminding us.