Tag: Rants

“If you don’t wish to be surprised, expect those you know to be who they are.”

I am about ready to apply this on a whole new scale to many of the newscasts going on.

I’ve read at least 50 articles on the tragedies, politics, and people in Iran, their recent election, and the social climate there. I’ve looked at a lot of words directly from people there, and some videos that to be honest are disparaging. However…to use these tragedies as a political posturing mechanism, if only to bad mouth our own President…dude…there are people there who arent allowed to show their faces, hiding…because they sent an email indicating they were ready to formally protest the results of the election. And I am seeing little half-assed “official looking” articles that start with “Iranians are being oppressed” and ending four pages later with “because our President buckled.”

For every writer that would sell his soul to speak on the net and spread propaganda like the example above…there are ten guys like me ready to chew your asses up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (well, at least I like to think so!)

Bottom line. We all have opinions. We all believe in **something**. Some of us believe that the foundation of our lives should be based in some sense of right and wrong and the ability make decisions based on this simple clarity of ethics. Even further down the hole…some few of us believe that if you have the balls to lay blame at the feet of a US president thousands of miles away, (who happens to be the first in a decade willing to do something other than obligate us into another war in the middle east)…you should bring a solution to the table that doesn’t include how poorly our decision to elect him is the root cause of problems in 1979?! Are you that that retarded man? Where is a solution in this? Oh wait…the meaning of a communication is the response you get…well if I am any indication, we may need to look at solution…pardon me if I may be so bold. 😉

Freedom is my ability to post this little rant and know it will be heard, and not snuffed. Freedom is the ability to write what you want, when you want. When what you write or communicate is perceived to restrain those same rights of others, you become another problem for the solution. You see, providing a solution is the answer.

Let me give you a little scenario…and then we’ll come around to a solution…

Example, a significant number of people in Iran protest and do not agree with their governments policy regarding censorship. Daily there are reports of brutality, reports provided to the media with video. Various government agencies take action when tens of thousands of people rally. Military and police assets are mobilized. Every single time someone is brutalized…there at least a mention of it, sometimes with video or photos, etc…even Twitter becomes a tool for the underdogs…since the government agencies are working VERY hard to keep the media from sensationalizing a demonstration into a riot.

You might think I am a bit crazy for saying this…but now stop thinking about it being Iran. Instead it is us. It’s a demonstration in a U.S. city that has the world’s attention because demonstrators are being struck down, brutalized, tear-gassed, and of course…arrested.

What is your solution now? In a country where it is our right as citizens to speak and be heard, our right to assembly. How will your government react? I hate to break it to you but our track record isn’t exactly pretty. We might not be as brutal, and our riot police might not be killing demonstrators anymore. But the fact that I had to use the word “anymore” in the previous statement should get you to sit back and think for a bit. If the world recognizes freedom, then the world should be more than willing to earn it. We are a far cry from Iran in a million ways and more…but in the desire for freedom, and our own propensity in poor decision-making, we are not so-very different. However freedom is not bestowed, it is achieved.¹ and I think Iranians deserve to govern themselves without our involvement. If their government finds insult in stern words spoken thousands of miles away…heh…more power to them 😉 I would think it far easier to win their hearts than to try and redirect their hate, but if the government want to say it’s the US’s fault that they shot and killed and brutalized their own citizens, it is obviously only a matter of time before their own people fail to support them. A religious state cannot function without the belief of its people. They will lose the will of the people and slowly crumble…and hopefully grow as a government into the view I hold of my friends who are actually from Iran. I would expect the exact same from their government with regard to us. The solution is to offer only aid in suffering, not sanction. Where that nation is wounded we should be offering to heal the wound rather than cauterize it. We should never mobilize in a military capacity where a state is in civil war, because to the third party, their military cannot distinguish friend from foe, and will ultimately come to blows with the wrong side. Easier it would be to send a plane full of doctors and surgeons to assist in aiding the hospitals…you know…the ones that went on strike? Without medical assistance many people injured would likely worsen. Unfortunately the government there would likely prohibit us from said help. Another solution is to prove to their government that it would benefit them to understand that the world changes, with it does our beliefs, and the desires of it’s people everywhere…if you do not appease the mob, you will be overtaken by it sooner or later.

Bottom line…Iran is stifling its people in hardliner moral law and censorship. Writers, please stop acting like children trying to get each other in trouble by pointing the finger at our president and present us all with ideas on how we can help outside of promoting your election agenda for 2012.

Okay, I am about out of gusto on this tonight…missed dinner while typing 😉 Please be sure to comment, I look forward to it 😉

Take care all.

-Tony

To be clear, I am not interested in US involvement, we haven enough on our plate. But whats happening to Iran is nothing less than tragic. No offense kiddoes but historically…religious states end bloody…it hasn’t worked…it doesnt work….it just ostracizes a nations youth. In Iran’s case, I hope these demonstrations show clearly that the government isnt interested in compromise, and only interested in furthering it’s own agenda, not being answerable to it’s own population. In doing so, the world will view them as another Iraq. Not now…later…is this truly how you believe your nation wishes to live?

Now to be clear, I am just looking far ahead…right now we’re seeing two factions both wrestling for the upper hand in a power play for Iran. Mousavi isn’t a beacon of shining light…he’s just a whole ton better to deal with than the loony that just got re-elected.

Here’s some linkage for the current stories.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-vote26-2009jun26,0,4907311.story

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/25/iran.election/index.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5107214.stm

More on Neda HERE A lot of details on what happened.
UK takes a little action HERE
Okay…BBC seems to be showing a little more detail and factuals than CNN now…they must be filtering their info out too much.

More later after work.