Do you see yourself in the face of an Iranian?

By Lisa Farrar Wellman
Protesting an election is pretty darn liberated of the Iranians, don’t you think? At first I watched their actions with a cynical attitude. They march in vain. Their elections are rigged. What’s the point? Now, though, I’m rooting for them. I believe in them. This is bigger than Mousavi, who is just as radical and untrustworthy as Ahmadinejad. If you spend 6.5 seconds on Twitter, you’ll see Iranians now calling for revolution, for the end of the mullahs and the Supreme Leader. They’re calling for workers to strike and citizens to refuse to pay their utility bills. Tweets ask for help translating first aid instructions into Farsi. Others offer advice on how to treat gunshot wounds and tear gas symptoms. This people held down by restrictions and fear is organizing itself using the latest in today’s technology and social networks. They’re demanding freedom from the oppression that has strangled their country for far too long.

Iranians fight today for what we already have and take for granted.