A New Look for Uh, Yeah Right

I've been feverishly reading various blogs for as much up to date information about the unrest in Iran following that country's sham of a presidential election. In solidarity with the followers of Mir Hossein Moussavi, who clearly believe that their candidate was robbed of victory, and who are now becoming the victims of a brutal fascist campaign to silence them, I have adopted their color -- green -- for my blog.

To my (few) readers: if you remember the sinking feeling that many of us felt when the Islamists took over Iran from the Shah, you are probably now feeling a cautious optimism that perhaps this will lead to end of that brutal so-called "revolution." As the thugs of the religious police and conscripted Hezbollah members brutalize students, women, children, and the elderly with clubs and guns, the true legacy of the Khomeini years is playing out in the streets of Tehran and elsewhere. This Iranian government was not a theocracy; it was a fascist dictatorship in the guise of a theocracy, which in my eyes is even worse. Given that the US upset the balance of power in that country 50 years ago when it installed the Shah, it is a remarkable thing to witness the restraint our current president is exercising in dealing with the crisis in Iran:

It is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran’s leaders will be. We respect Iranian sovereignty, and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran. Sometimes, the United States can be a handy political football…

Having said all that, I am deeply troubled by the violence that I’ve been seeing on television. I think that the democratic process, free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent – all those are universal values, and need to be respected. …

I can’t state definitively one way or another what happened with respect to the election, but what I can say is that there appears to be a sense on the part of some people who were so hopeful and so engaged and so committed to democracy who now feel betrayed. And I think it’s important that moving forward whatever investigations take place are done in a way that is not resulting in bloodshed….

To those people who have put so much hope and energy and optimism into the political process, I would say … that the world is watching and is inspired by their participation, regardless of what the ultimate outcome of the election [is]. …

Particularly, to the youth of Iran, I want them to know that we in the United States do not want to make any decisions for the Iranians, but we do believe that the Iranian people and their voices should be heard and respected.

The information pouring in is relatively sketchy, much of it via Twitter, Facebook and blogs. It's journalism on the fly, and it's really stirring to see it played out practically in real time. I have seen some incredibly brutal videos shot on cell phone cameras, stuff considered much too graphic for American television. Overall, however, the mainstream media look like fools, painfully ignorant of what's really going on. In particular, both CNN and Fox News have never looked more irrelevant or uncaring. While people were being killed in the streets, Wolf Blitzer led off with the latest in the Palin/Letterman tiff. Fox News anchors complained (on air!) that Iranian names were too long and had too many vowels. A couple of notable exceptions: the NY Times, which has been outstanding in its coverage; and the BBC, which has actually stood behind the protesters.

History is being made on the other side of the world. Stay in touch with it, read, send emails, share it with your family and friends. The hunger for freedom -- and all that comes with satisfying that hunger -- is being played out in living (and dying) color.