The tweets are in, and the Iranian people have spoken. The system is not broken, but their hearts are. The rigged election has fomented angry protests and is creating new conditions for a future, people-powered movement to arise, with or without Mousavi.
Symbolism speaks volumes. Heartfelt outrage has poured into the streets of the capital, with State police not far behind, showcasing to the whole world once again the actions any State is willing to go to in order maintain it's current facade in power. The leaders of Iran should remember, having once been revolutionaries, Jefferson's remark that "“every generation needs a new revolution.” Thirty years ago, the fundamentalists had their revolution and now, thirty years later, a new generation is laying claim to its own revolution. Most of the country is young, born after 1979. If the leaders are smart, they would act leniently and introduce reform on their own terms, so that the original Islamic revolution will still be the bedrock of the country. But they've shown that they're not mature enough to make historical calculations and as a result I think they are putting the Islamic revolution in jeopardy. In the beginning the people only want reform and a few more freedoms than they currently have, but if you refuse them of these things, they will seek to get rid of the entire regime and start fresh.
It is heartening to see my compatriots diving into the streets, and into history. Some are diving into a heap of crowds, and some into a pool of blood. If they keep at it their lives will be better for it. And they are mostly young, so I assume they will. By their demonstrations, the students and the protesters are reviving the soul of the nation, which is sequestered by old and conservative revolutionaries, the worst kind of conservatives. Some of them will not remain resolute throughout this period in Iran's history, but there are a lot of men and women who are determined to see change. Will their eyes see more blood like earlier generations? If so, I think a few of them will be ready to spill their own. Sacrifice is honored in that society. They let their guts hang loose. Fuck the flag.
One of the interesting things about this entire episode is its stark contrast to Amerika after the 2000 election, when the Bush regime had their coup. In Iran, the people's reactions to the rigged election were vibrant, while in America there was hardly a murmur in the streets. Maybe its because Iran had a revolution only one generation ago, while in Amerika, rebellion hasn't been in the air since 1776. And also because Iran is a younger nation and the people are even more liberal, politically, than Amerika. The last comment is outrageous but let's remember one thing, America has the most extreme and conservative foreign policy in the world. It is conserving it's empire, so it has to be led by radical men who are aligned on the right. Obama is more to the right than any previous democratic president. I would say that he is even more conservative than Ahmadinejad in the realm of national security and foreign policy. Ahmadinejad is securing a revolution; Obama, an empire. So it is only natural for Obama to be more conservative.
Also, the military and financial elite of Amerika are hidden, unlike Iran's clerical elite who's presence is known, sometimes feared, but never questioned. When the Bush regime came into power illegally, Amerika's elite concurred and Gore didn't dare to raise any question. Maybe Gore knew better so he kept silent. History will judge him unfavorably, because in the hour of crisis he didn't choose to be a patriot but a coward. Maybe his global warming crusade is an effort to avenge himself, and end his life with a better act. He may prove to himself and to the rest of the world what kind of man he is in times of serenity, but when he was tested he showed what he was really made of. A coward is still a coward, no matter how many times he dies. But let's ask, for history's sake, what if Gore continued to request recount after recount and told his supporters to march to the capital, what would the conservative Ameirkan elite have done? The same thing that is being done in Iran right now. And Gore would have likely been assassinated by a 'lone' gunman.
Or maybe Gore didn't fight tooth and nail because he respected the tradition of the Amerikan government, a government in operation for more than 200 years. In Iran, Mousavi did what he did because the current government has only been in power for thirty years, it is still an infant and Mousavi can lay claim to the government just as Ahmadinejad can because they were both elemental to its early success. Political traditions are much more ingrained in America than in Iran, another reason why America is the more conservative country. Don't let the head scarves fool you, Iran is very liberal. There are more Jeffersonian democrats in Iran, and more religious fundamentalists in Amerika.
Another reason why the coup in Amerika wasn't contested is that the Amerikan people are hard pressed not to rebel. Their blood runs cold. But it's not their doing, Amerika's current political history inside its own borders is just stale. Nothing of major importance has happened since Reagan took office. There was no Obama revolution. Compare our times to the times immediately after 1776. After the original revolution there were a number of rebellions that continued into the early 19th century. One famous example is Shay's rebellion. Another is the political revolution of 1800 when Jefferson and the Republican branch of the original revolution were elected into power. In Iran the same type of antagonism is going on, different leaders recount their own version of events and their own reasons for the revolution. A few clerical titans in Iran are contesting the election, which would be an impossible thing in Amerika; members of the elite dissenting against the official line. Did Jimmy Carter call the Bush regime illegitimate? No. He criticized its foreign policy in the Middle East, which was very honorable, but to say the entire regime was illegitimate would be regarded as blasphemy by the Amerikan State, and even the Amerikan people.
I'm not trying to take a jab at the Amerikan people by saying their weak and a bunch of cowards compared to other people, okay...maybe I am. They have to redeem themselves through courageous, non-violent resistance. (But I jab the American people because I love them, they are destined for revolution). For good reasons, they see rebellion as going through the back alley. 100 years of State schools will do that to you. But it is their fate to revolt, or secede, or maybe both at once. Just as it is the Iranian people's fate to rebel and reclaim their natural freedoms. These next few years are going to be interesting times in both nations.
