A Front Seat to Historic Change in Iran
We stare at our screens in awe and admiration at acts of incredible bravery by ordinary people.
Martin Luther King once said: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.
— From Obama’s speech on the events in Iran.
We are witnessing in Iran something both historic and profound. When the protesters this weekend chanted “Marg bar dictator” (”Death to the dictator!”) the world should have stopped in their tracks and listened to it. When people are out on the streets in droves calling for death to their leader in a country where freedom of speech often appears to be a myth, that is the sound of a revolution.
The people of Iran have taken to the streets knowing very well that they can die. They have put their lives on the line in order to make their voices heard. This is no longer about a stolen election. This is about freedom, justice, and years of oppression. It’s about voices that were held down for too long finally finding a way to cry out.
This is a revolution that is not only being televised, but publicized moment by moment across the world through the power of the internet. From blogs to Twitter, from YouTube to mainstream news sites, events are being broadcast as they happen. Videos, photos, sound bites, 140-character play-by-plays of courage and violence.
The world needs to see that violence. We need to see these images; the world needs to see these images. They impact us. They allow us to see what is going on not only through the eyes of the regime and through filtered news reports, but with the eyes and ears of those right there. And to see the death and violence is to understand not only what the protesters are facing, but what freedom means to them. It means so much that they would put their lives on the line in order to obtain it. They know that what they are doing today may not result in their freedom tomorrow, but perhaps it will come for the next generation. They are willing to sacrifice to make their country a better place for those that come after them.
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Michele Catalano lives, writes, and takes photographs on Long Island.
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22 Comments
1. Amy:Amazing job, Michele.
Jun 22, 2009 - 4:12 am 2. fear Obama:WOW-
this makes me feel a lot better,
only 50 cities had ballot boxes stuffed with over 100 percent of the population and counted paper ballots in 4 hours.
Aberdinnerjerkoff clearly won that election.
yeah….
Jun 22, 2009 - 4:40 am 3. KevinS:As long as the mullah’s and their protectors keep power, nothing will change except the body count.
Jun 22, 2009 - 6:02 am 4. Chuck Pelto:TO: Michele Catalano
RE: Awe?
“We stare at our screens in awe and admiration at acts of incredible bravery by ordinary people.” — Michele Catalano
Not necessarily. At least not amongst those of us who’ve physically stood between tyranny and our families. Rather, admiration of kindred spirits.
I remember being at lunch with a group of fellow Army combat-arms officers when we heard news of the massacre in Tienenneman Square.
At which point one of our group stood up and lifting his glass proposed a toast to the brave men and women thirsting for freedom in Communist China. The rest of the group stood and lifted their glasses in solemn praise of such wonderful people…..regretting that we could not be there to help them……
I feel the same way now towards these people in Tehran.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
P.S. And I have to wonder…..
…..will we be seeing similar scenes on the streets of America after the 2010 election?
Jun 22, 2009 - 6:42 am 5. TennesseeVolunteer:Our administration writes lukewarm statements like they are against violence. But where are the statements that “they are for freedom’.
Jun 22, 2009 - 6:53 am 6. Delia:While the Iranian people are fighting for their freedom, our government is conniving for every way possible to take ours away. I see that our government will be trying to takeover tobacco today, just one more slip down the slippery slope.
“Freedom!” William Wallace
Why do I have the dreadful feeling that America [the sane half] is going to be going through this when the caca del toro hits the proverbial fan.
Great article, Ms. Catalano. Thank you for the links too btw.
Jun 22, 2009 - 6:59 am 7. Charlie on PA Tpk:The lantern of liberty, itself, is slow to support the people who are losing their lives as we speak.
Naysayers in my office tell me that President Obama shouldn’t say anything inflammatory, lest he follow up with military action (which my coworkers agree he won’t do). But why can’t Mr. Obama act more like President Kennedy, who pledged the US would “bear any burden”, or President Reagan’s support of the people of Poland?
If the regime reacts even more violently than they’ve already done, the cause of freedom will pay a heavy toll.
Jun 22, 2009 - 7:05 am 8. Chuck Pelto:TO: Charlie on PA Tpk, et al.
RE: Heh
That was THEN. THIS is NOW!
Or, more accurately….
Yesterday’s truth is today’s lie. — ‘Progressive’ political axiom
Regards,
Chuck(le)
Jun 22, 2009 - 8:41 am 9. Reaganite Republican:P.S. Next they’ll claim that Kennedy never said any such thing……
Obviously -although it’s the last thing Team Obama wants to hear- Ronald Reagan’s support of Poland’s Solidarity in the dark days of the Soviet-ordered crackdown are the model here- not the preposterous straw-man argument of “what are you going to do, invade?” disingenuously presented by the do-nothing, Obamapologist left.
And isn’t this what George W Bush told you was going to happen in the Middle East in the wake of Iraq’s liberation?
Maybe that’s why Barack Obama has so little apparent interest in finishing the job in Iran… no matter how much it benefits the US and free world.
That, and the fact that he’s already piled all his chips on legitimizing this vile regime- and a democratic revolution at this point would be downright embarrassing for him.
Jun 22, 2009 - 8:47 am 10. tim maguire:Nicely done Michelle. It was fascinating to read the blogger make a list of final intentions before she goes off to possible death. There was something very life affirming about dance, write, talk with friends, get eyebrows done. Family, friends, interests and other small comforts. The daily minutia really is what it’s all about.
Jun 22, 2009 - 1:02 pm 11. SAF:Ronald Reagan spoke from strength. When he took office he built up America’s military might so our adversaries took us seriously. Reagan’s words had meaning because he put into play the things you need to be a force. Bush the second built on that strength by wiping out Saddam in Gulf War One.
Bush the second squandered that strength away by letting both Syria and Iran send men and material into Iraq to kill our troops without penalty.
Obama was hesitant to kill the Somalia pirates. Think Iran cares what he says?
Jun 22, 2009 - 1:16 pm 12. Fairbanks99:Obama won’t support freedom for Iran, because it would set a dangerous precedent, that is, encouraging freedom. Since he wants total control over our lives (finance, industry, health care, energy, speech, etc), it would be detrimental to his control in the US to encourage freedom for the Persians.
Jun 22, 2009 - 1:27 pm 13. Fairbanks99:#4, Chuck. The difference is, America’s people are a whole lot better armed than Iran’s. (The real reason behind all the ‘gun control’, is of course, ‘control’. Can’t have an armed citizenry opposing the benevolent state now, can we?)
Jun 22, 2009 - 1:46 pm 14. Ria:Why is everyone complaining that Obama is not interfering enough in Iran’s domestic issues when America stood and watched Mugabe kill members of the opposition who were protesting their rigged elections. Why didn’t Americans go in and stop the violence then? Why is Iran different?
Jun 22, 2009 - 1:53 pm 15. X Contra:Michele, I don’t mean to criticize, but that opening quotation of BHO quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is contradictory to “death to the dictator” shouts you feature here.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. always said that justice was his goal, not victory, revenge or power. It is a profound difference between Dr. King and the shouters of “death to the dictator.”
But yesterday I read an interesting line from PersianKiwi on Twitter:
If you catch militia – do not use violence do not kill him –
treat him as your brother.
That is a significant departure from the revenge stream of “death to the dictator” etc. I blogged it up yesterday, along with the Ten Commandments of Nonviolence that Dr. King, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth et al. used 50 years ago. I blogged them up because I know from personal experience that those ten commandments work!
You should educate yourself about Dr. King, Rev. Shuttlesworth and those guys. Well worth learning about their philosophy.
Jun 22, 2009 - 1:55 pm 16. michele:X Contra, I understand what you are saying and I thought about that after the article went to print. However, I don’t think I would change it, because it’s not the sentiment of “Death to the Dictator” that’s important; it’s the fact that there are thousands of people on the streets of Iran chanting words that would never be heard in public before.
Jun 22, 2009 - 2:31 pm 17. Jack:Without killing the man (men?) who hold the position of dictator, it is still possible for “death to the dictator” to come to be, by killing off the position of dictator. There are subtleties to Arabic that don’t translate easily, but I have no expertise to say that this is what is intended here. But it is possible.
Your writing shines as always, Michele.
Jun 22, 2009 - 2:51 pm 18. David W. Lincoln:Those who could do something, but marginalize themselves, will, by the end, have exacted a very
heavy penalty – on themselves, and by themselves.
No matter how they justify their stance, there is no getting around what they have done to themselves, and ultimately everyone.
Jun 22, 2009 - 4:55 pm 19. Listen up:They should have never killed Neda…now the movement will grow and the Mullah’s will not be able to wash Neda’s blood off their hands. Who shot Neda? Whoever you are I hope you see her death everytime you close your eyes. I hope you see her in every female face you look at. You may be breathing but you are already dead. May the Iranian people cast off the bloody, oppressive yoke of the Mullahs and their fat, greedy fists.
Jun 22, 2009 - 6:53 pm 20. chi hair straightener:All these people want is the same thing that a chance for life, Liberty. Long live freedom!
Jun 23, 2009 - 12:31 am 21. Chuck Pelto:TO: Fairbanks99
RE: Indeed…..
….we are.
But I’m waiting for the other ’shoe’ to drop. First we have the DHS claiming conservatives with military training are a ‘threat to national security’.
Now we have this ‘hate crimes’ bill before Congress that is aimed at conservatives expressing their honestly held opinions.
I expect to see legislation or some treaty end-run that will outlaw the ownership of weapons and/or ammunition. And THAT will be, in my professional military mind, a ‘key indicator’ that things are going to get ‘interesting’.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
Jun 23, 2009 - 4:44 am 22. CrossBow33:[Be prepared! -- Boy Scout motto]
We will not intervene. We can not. We can express solidarity with the protestors, and ignore claims of US interference in Iranian internal affairs.
“Marg bar dictator”
Jun 25, 2009 - 1:30 pm