A brief recap for the disconnected souls out there.
On June 12th, 2009, the country of Iran held their 10th democratic presidential election. The position of President in Iran is more of a figurehead due to the Supreme Leader who holds all the cards. On June 13th, protesters took to the streets combating the election results. On June 14th, the protests got violent. Outraged citizens claimed their votes were not heard, which was an understandable opinion, assuming the election was faulty. These events were said to be the, “biggest unrest since the 1979 revolution.” On June 19th, in the realm of outrageous violence, the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, spoke to the public. He condemned Iran’s enemies and upheld the election results. This strikes me as just more proof that the election was faulty. He should be seeking to end the violence, at all costs, but instead he denies the allegations and backs the reelected president. The protests continue and become more and more violent. Media is being blocked, internet sites taken down, and reports eliminated. It seems as if the last connection to the world is Twitter (Gosh) which is being tracked as much as the government can. As of today, several people have died, the streets are full of angry mobs, and there is no end in sight. Enough with the recap.
Amidst the protests, President Obama directed a quote to the leaders of Iran, “The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.” Are we going to war over a disputed election in another country? I am all for free speech and assembly, but I’m American. Iran is not America. The right of free speech and assembly is an American right, not a universal right. As a matter of fact, according to the founders of this country, universal rights are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. I believe that free speech, although a right in this country, is not a universal right. Gosh, if we are honestly claiming that we stand beside anyone exercising their rights to free speech, then we’re going to war with every third world country there is. I appreciate my right to free speech, and I exercise it daily, but I don’t claim that everyone has that right. I feel for the people who do not, but that doesn’t give us the right to step in. Break this down – it sounds like Obama is saying that if the Iranian government doesn’t allow these protests, then we will step in. I am the first to admit that I lack a humanitarian side, but politically we cannot play this role of World Police any longer. Maybe, we should just delicately annex the world as a US state; we are already trying to enforce our laws in their counties.
I stand by these protestors and I agree that the election was faulty, but I don’t think that gives us the right to step in. Right now in Africa there are tribes at war with each other, people’s rights are being violated, and the unalienable right, as Jefferson put it, to live, is out the window. But we aren’t making any attempt to tell them “we will get involved.” This is not America’s fight, this is not our country, and it seems we can accept that in Africa. I’ll have more to say when we inevitably put our troops in Iran to resolve yet another conflict that doesn’t involve us. Iran’s Supreme Leader made a comment that his administration will “crush” Iran’s enemies. Maybe I’m confused here, but that is us, that is the US that is considered Iran’s enemy. This appears to be the next excuse to get involved in a foreign diplomacy issue.
In my opinion, this is the age of the epic downfall of mankind. And pushing the big buttons is America; we control the conflicts. Maybe it is about time that we let this corner of the world resolve their own problems. I understand that this would lead to more civil rights being violated, but the alternative is we all put on “World Police” uniforms and start acting the part to a T. I think it is important to remember that Iran is not America; we have rights here, not there. The day we start enforcing our beliefs in countries that already express their discontent with us is the first day of World War 3.