In a world of complacency and apathy there is something so fundamentally and absolutely inspirational and beautiful about the will and passion of a people united. Recently the people of Iran took to the polls in order to vote in a new president. When it was announced that incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was the landslide victor skeptical supporters of the opposition channeled their angry energy into protests.
Protesters suspect election fraud, and it is this suspicion that has ignited hundreds of thousands of citizens to petition their grievances in the streets of Tehran. As of this morning 32 protesters have been killed, and many more people have been injured. Despite one’s opinion of the Iranian political situation, it seems undeniable that this is an exercise of democracy in its purest form. The people’s demand to govern themselves and to be heard and respected by their governing body is the underlying issue.
Being self governing is a fundamental premise of freedom and to deny an individual’s right to govern herself is to deny her autonomy, her liberty, her freedom. When a person, knowingly, is denied her freedom, all she desires and all she does in predicated upon attaining that freedom. The desire to be free is inherent in the human spirit. That is why Patrick Henry’s famous words “give me liberty or give me death” have rang so true to the hearts of so many for so long. So while we may not always relate or agree with the plights of those seeking freedom, shouldn’t we all, at the very minimum, be able to relate to and respect a person’s right to be free?
In our world people are constantly denied their freedom, and in this age of social networking we are more aware of the plights of others than ever. But, has this increased awareness caused us to become more jaded to the causes of our fellow man? As we become more connected are we really becoming more disconnected? Because the revolution has been televised it loses some of its sheer horror. Neatly packaged into a 30 second video clip; death tolls become numbers, we view hundreds of thousands of protesters with little awe as we await the next story—an update on the relationship status of Britney Spears and her agent.
Today I would like to remind everyone, it is our responsibility as inhabitants of this planet to respect our fellow man’s fight for freedom. With that in mind, I hope we all, despite our political perspectives, keep the people of Iran in our thoughts and prayers.
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"Because the revolution has been televised it loses some of its sheer horror."
ReplyDeleteI guess it depends on who's reporting. During the civil rights movement no one knew how bad it was in the south until they starting showing tapes on the news or whites hosing blacks down or releasing attack dogs on them. That wasn't the only part of the revolution of couse, but it was a very big part of it. So if we didn't have the information, be it a 30-second clip or not, we'd be less inclined to help our fellow brethren. No, even if we're just praying, we can pray specifically.
Great post!
Good Point T! I guess Technology is like a double edged sword in a lot of ways. It makes information more readily accessible, but at the same time the plethora of information we are constantly sifting to as a result of technology is often taken for granted. I guess we just have to find the balance between being well-informed and using that information wisely--
ReplyDeleteAs always, thanks for reading and commenting!