The media and the politicians have had a field day with six year old Elian Gonzalez. This is the six-year-old boy who accompanied his mother while she was trying to flee Cuba. Tragically the mother died during her desperate attempt to make it to the U.S. The U.S. government has now taken it upon themselves to decide the fate of this small boy.

While it is true he has relatives in Miami and he has a father and two grandmothers in Cuba the U.S. politicians are acting as though he is an orphan. The politicians are seeking political asylum for the boy even though there is no evidence this child is in any physical or political danger in his country. He may be trampled by the media or smothered by politicians in this country. This is just another political arrow to fling at the dictator Castro. The media doesn’t care what happens to the boy as long as there continues to be thirty-second sound bite material for the six o’clock news each evening.

The most remarkable group of people involving themselves in this chaotic circus of events is the Republicans. These are the same men and women who beat their chests and shout loudly about family values. Yet, this is the group shouting the loudest about not returning young Elian to his father…or should I say his country because after all that’s what the pundits and media would have you believe. Obviously we non-pundits could never understand the intricacies of this political minefield. Returning the boy would cause us to show weakness toward our archenemy Fidel. We might stumble as a world power, or maybe a small boy will just return to his home and his father. Oh, we are not alone; Fidel has answered the political rallying call to condemn the U.S. for holding the small boy hostage. He has thrown out his chest and called for the world to see how cold and uncaring we are and what a humanitarian he is…after all he just had a visit with the Pope. Rubbish, political non-sense. His interest in the boy is only as a tool to strengthen his ambitions.

My wife and I have discussed this situation several times. Her first take on this sad situation was the mother knew what was best for the boy and that is why he is here today, end of discussion. Not quite, but God bless her "mother bear" instincts. I am reminded that my wife and I both come from broken homes and we know what it is like to be used as pawns in an adult world although never on an international level. The other question I must ask her is if we were in this situation what would you have our three small girls do? Live with other relatives or live we me, the father. This story is really not political at all. It is about perspective or as the media would say "spin."

Consider this, is it too fantastic to believe in a communist dictatorship families cannot have family values? Not everyone is caught up in the politics of their country. If you have a hard time with this thought look at the pitiful voter turn out in this country. Also, since we will probably never know the true situation behind this series of events, it may be possible the father also wished to leave but could not or he may never have known his son was leaving. The press reports the mother was with her son and her boyfriend. We simply do not know. The last thought I would leave you with is this. If this country does what we know is right and return the boy to his father, not his country, his father, Elian may be the child that grows to manhood and takes the reins of his country some day. If Americans have done the right thing by him maybe, just maybe, he will consider these things when making decisions about his country.

When you strip all the politics away from this media event what you end up with is a small boy, far from home who needs his dad.