WALKING IN SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES

Years ago, my Conservative friends were mad at the members of Verily

Prime for supporting Elian Gonzalez’s returned to his father in Cuba because we placed ourselves in the father’s shoes. My conservative friends took the

opposing position, which was predicated upon their ideology that opposed the Cuban dictatorship. For us, notwithstanding Castro’s atrocities, it was germane to rightfully place the young Gonzalez’s boy back with his surviving parent-in this case, the father. The fact that the father lived in Cuba was of no consequence for our position and it should not have been. Today, we have a similar situation being played out between New Jersey and Brazil. A mother from Jersey took her son to Brazil…got re-married to a Brazilian doctor and subsequently died giving birth. In the interim, the Brazilian doctor has refused to send the boy back to his dad in New Jersey. Bear in mind, that the New Jersey father was and is a good father to his son and has been relentless in trying to get him back. For that Brazilian doctor--who incidentally sired a daughter with the boy’s mother--place yourself in the New Jersey father’s position. The Brazilian father’s position is that the boy loves his new family, including his young sister…and that those facts should trump the law. Think of the president this would usher in: in essence, if someone kidnaps a child and said child comes to like the surrounding amenities, then every parent in similar situations should lose his or her child. I supposed, Jesus forbids, if the doctor’s daughter, when she is older, is kidnapped and forced into slave trafficking and child prostitution, and the pimp/

kidnapper treats her well…it would be ok for the doctor to lose his parental right. Well, you say, prostitution is illegal…so too is kidnapping. I say to the Brazilian authorities, do the right thing. It must be noted that in the Gonzales case, it was Janet Reno, our then Attorney General, who gave the orders to literally take Elian Gonzalez...so that he could go back to his father in Cuba.

-Verily Prime