Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000
In Defense of Marisleysis Gonzalez and her Supporters
Thomas M. Miovas, Jr.
I made yet another call to a local talk show host, Chris Jackson
of WBAP 820 AM, after listening to the Rush Limbaugh show that
preceded it (I figured I wouldn't be able to get through to
Rush, and he's taped delayed by one hour locally in Dallas
anyhow). My comments are based on these calls and other programs.
A part of me wants to say that I don't know what is happening to
America, given the position of the vast majority of the
commentators on this case; but the better part of me knows the
answer. If you remember from _Atlas Shrugged_, during one of the
party scenes Francisco is confronted by an elderly woman who
says she can't sleep at night because she's afraid until the sun
comes up. Many people (including myself) seem to be experiencing
this after the Miami Gonzalez home was raided, and, like the
woman in that scene, they are asking what is happening to the
world. Francisco answers that it is getting exactly what it
deserves. She is shocked, saying how cruel, and Francisco
answers: Don't you believe in the operation of moral law?
The operation of moral law on the negative side comes into
effect when the good is no longer recognized as the good by the
good, because their inverted morality is being used against them
-- leading them to unwittingly lend support to the evil that is
destroying themselves and their country, by falling for and
spreading the undue persecution of those who are fighting for
the individual rights of man on the grounds that such a fight is
immoral.
This country has survived on borrowed time for many decades.
That time is paid for by heroic individuals such as Marisleysis
Gonzalez, who have the courage to stand up to oppression
wherever it may occur. She may not have a fully integrated
philosophy, but she, her Miami relatives, her friends and her
supporters know what the issues are in this case -- and they are
not afraid to speak out and to take action on a morally just cause.
The enemy also knows the issues, but dare not name them
explicitly, because they know it is still too early to take over
this country. They have not yet shut down the forums for open
discourse, where there is evidence that there are many Americans
struggling to grasp the principles behind the monsters that have
been let loose to come upon them. Unable to give a legitimate
reason for their positions and their actions, while at the same
time hiding behind a veneer of legality, the enemy engages in a
primary smear campaign that is picked up by others:
Lazaro Gonzalez is a drunk who can't hold a job, Elian's mother
was a love-sick wench who risked her son's life for a tryst,
Marisleysis had had psychological therapy for stress related
problems in childhood and was having a nervous breakdown in
front of the world during her CNN news conference, Senator Bob
Smith is aggrandizing the situation merely for political gain,
the lawyers for the Miami relatives are working pro-bono for the
time being so they can collect royalties from any future book or
movie contract, etc.
Notice that each of these smears is designed to make you
question the morality of their stance, so you won't want to
consider them to be what they really are: American heroes.
That CNN news conference was Marisleysis' finest hour, and the
first comments made by the news anchor afterwards was that it
was a very long conference that seemed to ramble and was often
disjointed. Hell, these people had just had their home busted
into, were threatened to be shot by INS thugs if they didn't
hand the damned boy over, dashed off to Washington on short
notice, and only had a few hours to compose themselves. That
they were able to put two thoughts together coherently is
remarkable, that they were able to make such a vivid and
unforgettable case for their position is uplifting, that the
news anchor didn't have a clue as to the issues brought up for
nearly an hour and a half is frightening.
The enemy, and their witting or unwitting philosophic
compatriots, need to know that they will encounter moral
opposition to their stance. That is the only way this country
will survive. Most of the country has never heard of the
Objectivist position on individual rights and why Marisleysis
and her supporters are moral heroes. We need to let them know
while they are willing to listen and while the forums are still
free.
