Why I Support the Green Revolution

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"The difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised. Either way, we're going to be dealing with an Iranian regime that has historically been hostile to the United States, that has caused some trouble in the neighborhood and is pursuing nuclear weapons."--President Barack Obama

To further quote from Jonathan Gurwitz's editorial(Sunday, June 28, 2009. San Antonio Express-News),
"But what is taking place in Iran is about something fundamentally far greater than whether Mousavi is better than Ahmadinejad. It is about the Iranian people expressing a desire for freedom and truly democratic institutions. It is about the enduring conflict between those who use violence to retain power and the people who stand peacefully against that power.

We have seen them in many lands in recent decades — in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, China, Ukraine and Lebanon. We've seen them in the United States, in Selma and Birmingham."


There's been made mention of similiarities in the recent perceived fraudulent elections in Iran and the "hanging chads" presidential elections in Florida in 2000. At least 10 families planning funerals and dozens of Iranian political prisoners could quite rightly take issue with this.


We in America were able to see our dispute follow the rule of law and take it to the Supreme Court, we were able to publicly protest, to write editorials and to bad-mouth our president behind his back and on late night talk shows for eight years.

I support the Green Revolution because I don't like bullies, I believe that Dissent Is Not A Crime, I believe in freedom of speech and thought, and that people have the right of self-determination. I also believe that any government whose crowd control tactics resemble the Flying Monkeys needs to be publicly admonished.



We need to always, and everywhere, fight the Flying Monkeys. We deserve better in this life.

Comments

  1. RoseJune 30, 2009 at 2:29 PM

    Thanks for writing about this issue. It caused me to read further about it and I appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mary EllenJune 30, 2009 at 4:17 PM

    I feel like I knew practically nothing about Iran until recently, and have been breathlessly trying to catch up. I appreciate your sticking with this issue. I know that the U.S. administration will have a delicate dance to do over the next while, but the rest of us common citizens need to give the Iranian people our support. Thanks for the image of the flying monkeys - a chilling memory from the movie (but - in the book of the Wizard, I think I remember they weren't so bad, really, and got reformed when the witch was out of the way).

    ReplyDelete
  3. robertJune 30, 2009 at 4:49 PM

    Good morning from Athens, eventhough it's close to three in the morning would like to say that your entry was of very much of interest and thankfullnes from my behalf, as I have many friends in the Iran.
    Please have a nice afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. GailJune 30, 2009 at 5:03 PM

    Way to go, well said.

    ReplyDelete
  5. PyzahnJune 30, 2009 at 5:13 PM

    Yes, indeed, very nicely said. Those flying monkeys are pretty creepy -- Oz and Iran.

    ReplyDelete
  6. aimsJune 30, 2009 at 5:20 PM

    Here here!

    ReplyDelete
  7. KarenJune 30, 2009 at 6:30 PM

    Thanks for the passion and reality check you bring to this issue (I had been thinking about the hanging chads and forgotten that we'd used our systems to help resolve the issue). I also love how stories help us to grasp the basic issues of our complex reality. Stand up to all the bullying monkeys in this world however they manifest themselves!

    ReplyDelete
  8. dsJune 30, 2009 at 7:14 PM

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. KathleenJune 30, 2009 at 8:54 PM

    Well put, DBSO, well put. Such a complicated story line, but underscored by such a fundamental human right: to be free of oppression. Blessings to the peacemakers who seek to restore civility, especially to the descendants of one of humanity's earliest civilizations.

    ReplyDelete
  10. RudeeJune 30, 2009 at 10:04 PM

    I am more than willing to support those who endeavor to have a truly democratic society. What's been happening there may indeed be the beginning of the end of their theocratic government. I'm hopeful for them, but leery of their leaders.

    ReplyDelete
  11. debraJuly 1, 2009 at 4:55 AM

    Amen, Sister.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Batteson.IndJuly 1, 2009 at 11:23 AM

    I feel like I know so little about the politics going on in the world... It is so easy to shut the door, turn off the t.v, read, watch, write and think about nice things. I have an awful attraction to being utterly ignorant, born from fear and the feeling there is no point trying to do anything as one individual.... The world is such an unjust place, from the house just on the corner, to the house on the other side of the world.....
    What can we do?..... what can we do???????.....
    But talk.........
    Maybe that is enough??????....
    I hope this is enough.........?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Deanna Bland Hiott PhD, MSN, RNJuly 3, 2009 at 1:16 PM

    Well said...Hear! Hear!

    ReplyDelete

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Hey, thanks for your thoughts and your time:>)

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