Monday, July 6, 2009

IRAN - Not Quite The Land Of The Free - But Definitely The Home Of The Brave

July 6th, 2009


My Dear America:

As I sit at my computer at the end of my Long Weekend Celebration of the Fourth of July I remain, as always, Happy, Proud and Lucky to be an American. The fireworks were great and sitting around a pool with my family members was great and I am grateful for the time that I have had this weekend in the Land Of The Free. I admit that I am as guilty as anyone else when it comes to taking for granted the benefits of living in America. That was brought home to me forcefully when in the month of June Iran had an election.

The results of Iran's election for President was questionable at best and brutal and savage highway robbery of voting rights and human rights, at worst.

Just weeks after American President Barack Obama reached out to Middle Eastern and Islamic Citizens everywhere in the world through his speech in Cairo, Egypt, Iranian citizens went to the polls in droves and staged pre election rallies that looked like nothing that had ever been seen before in this country that had stirred the ire of freedom lovers everywhere.

"Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran", John McCain had sung during the Presidential Campaign mocking the Jan and Dean and Beach Boys song, "Barbara Ann".

McCain, George Bush and Dick Cheney were all on the same page when it came to Iran. Never mind that they never finished what they had started in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not only didn't they finish what they started, they had turned both Afghanistan and Iraq into terrorist magnets and made what seemed like wrong moves at every juncture.

Following Bush and Cheney's disastrous entry into Iraq and Afghanistan the dynamic duo started taunting Iran. Just what we needed no wins in two countries was not enough, BC & Company started talking like they were going to invade Iran, as well. And they had some degree of support prior to the American Elections in November of 2008. Luckilly for us Bush and Cheney were shown the door before they could throw more gasoline on the Middle East Fires they had started.

And in June, 2009 the Iranian electorate prepared to show the door to their hard line holocaust denying President but instead the even harder line Islamic powers behind the scenes in Iran slammed the door to freedom on the progressive mainly young peoples movement in Iran.

At first it looked like a real election with polls set up for all Iranians to have their chance to vote. But clearly something went wrong in Iran as the hard liners were taken aback and the new freedom fighters, who recognized how badly they had been shafted hit the streets of Tehran in protests that were stunning. They were, at first, broadcast all over the world by CNN and other networks while Iranian Television gave no coverage to the protest in the streets. Blogs, Facebook and Twitter at first stoked the flames of freedom in the streets of Tehran. To those of us watching it in America, it looked as though the Candidate of the people, Mousavi, might actually be installed as President of Iran. But that was not to be, at least not in the immediate future.

Although at first Mousavi seemed to be given a free hand in setting up protests and rallys that freedom of assembly didn't last long. The more control Iranian officials had on the media the less they played their hand. But after about a week of protests it was clear to anyone watching that the rulling Ayatollah's were getting ready to rid the streets of Tehran of the stink of Freedom. Clearly if Freedom truly came to Iran the days of the Ayatollah's calling the shots were numbered. So the men of God, the followers of Allah, began a crackdown of epic proportions.

When the protests broke out after the election results were certified by the Ayatollahs, President Obama's reactions were measured and hopeful. His measured and thoughtful reactions to the crisis in Iran were criticized by John "Bomb Bomb Iran" McCain and Lindsay Graham, among other mainly Republican critics of the President.

Clearly at the beginning of the protests Obama getting involved in telling Iranaian authorities what to do is exactly what the powers that be in Iran wanted. When confronted at a news conference by a reporter's question regarding the Republicans, McCain and Graham, charging Barack with being timid in his response to the crisis Barack stated that

"I am the President and they are not"

In Obama's defense, as the violence in the brutal crackdown on Iranian protestors has escalated so has Barack Obama's condemnation of the Iranian government's vicious attack on their freedom loving countrymen. Although some word continued to get out through social networking sites, Twitter and phone cameras sent videos to CNN too violently graphic to broadcast, the Iranian regime stamped out the protests with incredible violence such as shooting innocent people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and even hatcheting incidents and human beings thrown off bridges and brutally attacked in their homes.

As CNN found it harder and harder to find appropriate broadcast videos suddenly word came that Michael Jackson had died and from then on all that could be seen on the 24 hour News Channels were all things Michael Jackson. So as the King of Pop has taken over our TV screens it seems as though we who are free have forgotten about those Freedom Loving Brave Individuals who, for a couple of brief weeks actually were free.

As we move on through our lives in the new Post Michael Jackson world I hope we never forget the King of POP and I am even more hopeful that we will keep in mind the thousands of Brave Iranians who put their lives on the line to protect their votes and their freedom. They may not still be on the evening news but they are out there in that dark country shouded in mystery working toward the freedom that we take for granted in America every day of our lives.

Let us never forget their courage as they showed us how much like us they really are.

And if John McCain once again sings "Bomb Bomb Iran" lets keep in mind just who we will be bombing and never sing that song again.

Unless its Barbara Ann and The Beach Boys or Jan and Dean are singing it on the radio.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher