Down with the Islamic Regime in Iran

I attended a Freedom for Iran rally in downtown Portland earlier this week and was very disappointed with the nature of it. Previous rallies I have attended have been organized and attended by members of the community who desire to see the Islamic regime in Iran removed. However, if you read the exchange between myself and an Iranian gentleman who also attends these rallies, you will see that this last one was quite different.


His message:
"I've heard that a couple of organizers used physical force to move M--- from one location to another, just because M--- wished to exercise her freedom of speech and chant anti regime slogans. If this is true, the organizers are hypocritically claiming to be defending the rights of Iranians in Iran while suppressing the same here in Portland. I believe the Political Green organizers are high-jacking the movement in Iran by suppressing any kind of anti regime slogans outside Iran."

My reply:
"I agree completely with you! I was not physically present when they put their hands on M---'s shoulders and told her to shut her mouth and pushed her back, but she told me what happened and she is a very honest woman and certainly would not fabricate such an incident. I was there, however, when a German girl, who knew NOTHING about Iran or the situation there, became very vocally angry with M--- and kept forcing M--- and I to back up by aggressively pushing her body towards/against us. Another man mockingly told M--- that she had a big mouth.

I was so frustrated with the fact that the people (none or very few of which were Iranian) who were allowed to come and speak from the podium knew very little about the situation in Iran, and some of them didn't even how to pronounce Iran! They kept calling it I-ran. They were merely up there to get their own political agendas across, which in many cases happened to be anti-America, anti-Jewish, and anti-regime change. They spoke about how enraged they were with America's involvement in Iraq; they spoke as though they thought that Iraq and Iran were the same country and good buddies. I wonder if they even know about the Iraq/Iran war and that Persians and Iran are VERY different from their neighboring Arab countries.

They had speakers from the Arab and Palestinian coalitions of this and that, who really weren't talking about much that was relative to the subject we were protesting at all! We were there to protest the brutal treatment that the people of Iran have endured at the hands of their Islamic government which is dominated by a cruel and ruthless dictatorship. The entire regime must go, otherwise little has been accomplished. Mousavi, after all, is one of the few candidates that Supreme leader Khameini allowed to run for the presidency. None of the leaders under that regime are going to bring true change to Iran, regardless of whatever promises of slight reforms they may give.

The attempts made by the organizers of the rally to remove the visibility of any pre-regime flags from the premises of the rallies, and their aggressive and suppressive behavior towards those who want the entire regime gone is unacceptable and, like you said, hypocritical. Also, the lack of knowledge demonstrated by the speakers they allowed to come and speak was deplorable and disrespectful to any freedom loving Iranian or American."

Is Ignorance Really Bliss?

Why is it that my generation consumes so much media, but has such a minimal grasp on what is going on in the world?

Why is it that missing the latest "Desperate Housewives" show is worthy of cardiac arrest, but when I ask people if they have been following the situation in Iran 90% give me a perplexed look and shake their heads.

I wish that the youth in my country could temporarily be transplanted to a country where they have no freedom, where they are told what they can or can't do, wear, or say and where nearly everyone, or at least someone close to them, has suffered unjustly at the hands of government officials. Perhaps then the blinders would be removed and the mall, movies, Frapaccinos and he said/she said gossip would no longer seem like such life and death issues after they had been presented, first hand, with real, life-threatening situations.

My peers have so much potential for good, so much access to educational opportunities and books and so many opportunities to make a difference; so many liberties and opportunities are available to us, and yet we don't appreciate or take advantage of them. Is it because we have never had to fight for our liberty that we take it for granted? Or are we just so uneducated that we have no knowledge of history and no comprehension of the dear price with which freedom is purchased and no understanding of how swiftly and slyly it can be stolen from us and how painful are the consequences of such ignorance and laziness.

I wish that for 10 weeks the youth in America could transplant to Iran and gain an appreciation for what we have here and come back ready to fight to protect it and to fight for the freedom of others.

Maybe part of the problem is that the troubling scenes we view on our TV screens seem so numerous and overwhelming and our estimation and knowledge of what we can do to help is so meager, that it is just easier to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear and continue on in our blissful little worlds.

But is ignorance really bliss? At what cost do we maintain an attitude of lethargic apathy? I think the words of Randy Stonehill from his song, "Who Will Save the Children," are fitting:

"As we observe them through our T.V. screens,
They seem so distant and unreal,
But they bleed like we bleed
And they feel what we feel...

Now we decide that nothing can change,
And throw up our hands in numb despair,
But we lose a piece of our souls,
By teaching ourselves just how not to care."

I do not mean to sound harsh or patronizing; I am lecturing myself with this post. I think that oftentimes people WANT to help, but they just don't understand the issues or how they can become involved. The purpose of this blog is to spread the word about issues that demand our attention and opportunities in which we can become involved and make a difference.