As we go on about our daily lives the good people of Iran are being oppressed. Their government set up a phony election and gave them a phony result. We don’t need to go into the logistical impossibilities of counting 44 million votes in a matter of minutes, that’s barely the point. What must be noted is that the people of Iran were outraged by this and started to (rightfully so) protest in anger. The Iranian government first responded by trying to beat their people into submission and then, when that didn’t work, by shooting them into submission. I am proud to say though they have not been subdued as of yet.
If we as a country really respect freedom we should support the people of Iran as they rise up against their theocratic oppressors. Our government should be offering its support for a truly democratic Iran which is ruled by laws, not religions, not kings or clerics, but just laws that protect the rights of all, including women and children. Our government does not seem to be doing this, instead they are enacting caution.
It’s hard to blame someone for being cautious, but at what point do we stop playing the “let’s see who wins” game and start taking real sides. If we play this game as we did in Iraq in the 1980’s and 1990’s then the totalitarian regime will be able to repress the democratic momentum as was done in Iraq when we offered our support and then stayed our hand at the last moment. Thousands of Kurds were killed and we did nothing for a decade. It’s no wonder that so many nations feel as they do about the United States. We’re all talk. And when we do act its usually a decade or two too late.
But now it’s worse. We’re not even talking. We’re not even offering our support to the counterrevolution in Iran. It needs support. It needs to know that we are with them. They are encouraged by the results in Iraq. They see that freedom is a true possibility.
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2 comments:
I am really disappointed in the way my government is handling this. They are simply ignoring it because (I think) they don't want to be seen as supporting regime change and that's too much like the previous administration.
Let's not do the right thing because we don't like the other people who did it. How much more childish can we get?
Well that's exactly it. Doing the right thing is never a consideration for this or any other administration. If it's not foreign policy we're getting screwed on our own homefront. Bush did great with the war and foreign policy but he did nothing about the borders! When can we get the kind of justice we need?
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