Taking to the Streets

As I follow the progress of the election aftermath in Iran in the news, I am moved by the courage of ordinary people who are risking their lives to let the world know that the extremist political Islam taking place in their country is not their choice. As an American, I am put to shame by their protest. They were robbed of their electoral process. They have been disenfranchised. We Americans should have taken to the streets for Al Gore in 2000 when we were robbed of our electoral process. We should have let the world know that the conservative policies taking place in our name were not our choice. We should have taken to the streets in 2004 to show that we did not approve of the Bush Administration’s lies, murder, torture, and bullying. When I read about the young musician who died in the street and whose death immediately swept the world on YouTube, I recalled the students who died at Kent State so many years ago. There was a time when Americans risked their lives to say “This is not our government of choice. This is not our policy of choice.” I, like so many others, have become complacent and do not wish to experience the discomfort, fear, and anger of prison. I do not have the courage to risk my life. I wonder where the threshold lies. The level of injustice, of unhappiness and fury, that finally brings people to the moment of saying, “Enough.” I applaud the people taking to the streets in Iran. Your actions may not make a difference today, or tomorrow, but they will make a difference one day in the future. My heart goes out to you.