I am impressed with the Iranians determination willingness to fight for free elections and for a democracy that works. Seeing these people, young and old, in the streets being chased around by riot police and soldiers because they refuse to accept what the supreme leader (the Ayatollah) has told them is a true and fair election result. It takes a lot of balls to do what these people are doing out in the open: protesting an oppressive and restrictive government that has lied to them since it ousted the Shah all those years ago, knowing full well the consequences of their actions could lead to devastating consequences for their families and for themselves.
And all this, for an election that on the grand scale of the world really makes no difference (from what I understand about the Iranian political structure) because no matter who is elected, the final word on ANYTHING in Iran belongs to the Ayatollah who is not elected by the people but chosen by the church.
So why do these people fight a useless fight that they know they can’t win? Because they have to, no one else will do it for them. Resistance is the key to existence in places like this. Iran has decided to express itself, Iran has decided to resist and Iran has chosen a very public forum in which to express its views: the streets, in front of television cameras.
The Iranian blogosphere is on fire with people that are supporting the rioters and those who are against them, those loyal to the president elect and those who’d like to see him removed but more importantly: Iranians are expressing online the feelings that on the street would earn them a beating and possibly an arrest; they are bringing these feelings to the entire world that simply has to point, click and open their eyes to see that this beautiful and diverse culture seems to be on the brink of yet another social shift in its long and tumultuous history.
So to the people of Iran who refused to be blind, to the people of Iran standing on the streets demanding justice, to the bloggers of Iran who are courageously posting their views online, to the Iranians around the world who are demanding justice: thank you for being an inspiration to the rest of us.
(Note: it is impossible for me to write about Iran again without mentioning that as far as I know the Blogfather, the Canadian-Iranian blogger, is still being held in jail by the Revolutionary Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran on charges of being a spy for Israel. Please click HERE to show your support)
Muchacho Enfermo
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